Aid for Baby Coast's Tracheostomy Care and Recovery

Hi everyone, I wanted to share a little bit of our journey with you.

On September 5, Anthony and I went to bed like any other night. Around midnight, I woke up to some strange pains. They weren’t too bad, and since this was my first baby, I didn’t think much of it. I went back to sleep, but a few hours later, the pain was much worse. But I just kept trying to go back to sleep.

Not knowing what labor felt like and feeling so exhausted, I didn’t wake Anthony up. I was going through this alone, barely realizing what was happening. Every 10-15 minutes, I’d wake up with worse pain, but I was too tired to fully grasp it. Finally, at 7:30 am, Anthony woke up. By then, I couldn’t sit up and was on my hands and knees in agony. He called his mom, a midwife, and she told us to head to the hospital.

The pain only worsened as we drove, and by the time we arrived, everything became a blur. The doctors told us I was 10 cm dilated, and I was in shock. They gave me a steroid to try and stall labor and protect the baby’s brain, but it didn’t hold. Shortly after, I was given an epidural and they broke my water. At 26 weeks and 6 days, at 11:15 am, our beautiful baby boy, Coast, was born.

Since then, his journey hasn’t been easy. Coast was intubated, extubated, and then reintubated multiple times. On Christmas Day, he stopped breathing and turned blue. The medical team had to use a neobag to resuscitate him. Thankfully, they were able to stabilize him, but this led to many difficult conversations between Anthony and me, as well as with the doctors, to determine the best course of action.

We learned that staying in the hospital indefinitely until Coast outgrew his airway issues wasn’t a viable option. After careful consideration, the entire neonatology team, along with pulmonary and ENT specialists, recommended that Coast get a tracheostomy. I had never even heard of a trach before, and when they explained it, it didn’t sound like something we wanted for our baby. We feared it would limit him, and he wouldn’t be a “normal” baby. But after much reflection, we made the difficult decision to move forward with the procedure.

Now that Coast has healed from the surgery, he is a completely different baby. He’s happy, he smiles, and he loves to play. I’m so glad we made this decision for him.

That said, this journey hasn’t come without financial strain. Medical bills are piling up, we need equipment for when he comes home, and we've been taking daily Ubers to and from the hospital to be with him. The financial burden is real, but the love and hope we feel for him are even stronger.

Thank you for reading our story and for your support. Whatever shape that takes! It means the world to us.