Help Noah

Our son Noah Liam Martin was born prematurely on June 8th at 7:01am weighing 5 pounds 9 ounces. During the pregnancy we discovered that his heart had a right aortic arch with vascular ring, a heart defect that can be problematic long term and depending on the severity, may require surgery. Immediately after giving birth when he was placed on his Mom's chest it was apparent that there was an issue with his skin. He was bright red and his skin was peeling off in layers from his head, face, neck, shoulders, arms, stomach, back, groin, legs, and feet. After holding him for fifteen minutes he had to be taken to the measuring table where they examined the condition of his skin and discovered that his body temperature was alarmingly low. They prepared a heat sack wrapped him in plastic and swaddled him in several blankets, fearing the use of the heat lamp would be damaging to his peeled skin and cause him an extensive amount of pain. He was immediately transported to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital NICU for isolation, further assessment and diagnosis but are still uncertain as to what exactly is causing his skin to peel off in this manner. In addition to his skin being the biggest barrier of protection from infection it is also what keeps moisture from leaving the body. Because his skin is so comprised, he is extremely vulnerable to infection and runs a very high risk of dehydration and loss of moisture and nutrients that are necessary for him to stay alive. We know very little as of right now about the severity of the condition, the full extent of the risk of infection and the state of the infections that he has already sustained. They are treating his entire body with ointment several times a day and keeping him wrapped in ointment treated mesh, gauze and a special treated netting which holds moisture in the body and protects his exposed layers of skin from the open air and environment. They put in a peripheral IV line in his hand for fluids and a PICC line under his leg in his groin area which runs directly to his heart in order to give him antibiotics, specially formulated nutrients, and medicine to help ease the pain he's experiencing. He had to be sedated and put on oxygen in order to get him comfortable and keep him still enough to do the imaging and the procedure. A team of Geneticists, Dermatologists, Cardiologists, Endocrinologist, Doctors and Nurses are literally working around the clock to keep him hydrated and clean and as comfortable as possible while they research and try to determine what this is, how severe of a case he has and what the best treatment options are while we wait for the results of the biopsy and genetic tests. The staff is absolutely amazing, we are so lucky that he is where he is..truly we could not ask for a better team. We don’t know how much longer he will be in the NICU or what his life will be like moving forward, but we do know that we will do anything and everything we can to manage his having to live with this condition and help to make him as comfortable and happy as he can be. The money that we are trying to raise through this Go Fund Me will be going to assist in paying the hospital bills that aren’t covered by insurance, to offset the financial impact that the loss of work will have on our living expenses as we go through this very frightening and difficult time in our lives and the beginning of our son Noah's life, and most importantly to help us be able to provide him with the care that he is going to need to live a good life moving forward. Our family graciously thanks you for anything you are able to contribute to us. Sincerely and with Hope, The McIntyre-Martin Family