Ezra's Omphalocele Medical Support

Ezra and Jameson Mitchell were born on December 23, 2017. 

While both identical twins were preemies, Ezra was born with a very rare abdominal wall defect, a giant omphalocele.  His giant "O" contained his liver and part of his intestines that had not properly grown inside his abdominal cavity. Despite his specialized care Ezra's doctors were not entirely sure he would survive his first night.


12 hours after being born Ezra had a successful surgery to repair a duodenal atresia, or blockage in his intestines. His giant "O" had to be ruptured for surgery and then re-covered with a synthetic skin.  A wound vac was then placed over his omphalocele to start the slow process of expanding his abdomen in order to eventually move his organs inside his body.  

Ezra also has under developed lungs requiring him to need breathing support. This is commonly associated with omphaloceles. 

He has dual inguinal hernias and hydroceles.

In addition he does not tolerate food by mouth and is tube-fed his breastmilk.

Yet Ezra has triumphed over all his challenges. He continues to grow and his omphalocele continues to get smaller. His lungs continue to strengthen and his breathing support is regularly weaned. He won't stop fighting and we won't stop advocating for him and his healthy recovery.


While big brother Jameson is no longer in the hospital the twins rarely spend a day apart. They both love music and all the attention from the nurses. Both boys are over 11lbs now and growing like weeds.


It's been 110 days at the UCSF NICU. 5 hours from our home in Northern California. So many ups and downs. Navigating life in a new city while coping with the rigors of having a child in the NICU. We are incredibly hopeful  the end of this extended hospital stay is in sight but we don't know when we will all be able to return home.  Ezra has more surgery and continued treatments in his future. Yet we know he will continue to defy the odds.

As we head into our 4th month of intensive care the costs of life in the city, far from home, are beginning to mount. We decided to turn to friends and family and ask for your help and support as we work to get our son home.

Thank you from the Mitchell/Brooks family,
Darrin, Elizabeth, Iris, Jameson & Ezra