Mason Strong

In the early morning hours of September 7, 2021, our dear friends Marcus and Natalie were blessed with 7lb., 11.5oz, and 19 inches of beauty, strength, and grace, when their baby girl Mason Lucia Renner was born.

When Mason entered the world, she was not breathing or crying. She was immediately whisked away by her medical team before anyone had any idea what was going on. She was examined, hooked up to oxygen, iv's, feeding tube, and every monitor you can imagine.

Marcus and Natalie officially met their precious baby for the first time many hours later through a blur of tears, tubes, and overwhelming fear. Mason was born with craniosynostosis, which is a condition where her skull joined together too early. In Mason's case, her doctors estimate it started around 4mo gestation. Mason was also born with a collapsed lung, and enlarged heart. Her condition was a surprise to us all. This type of syndrome is too specific to have shown up on the genetic test provided in early pregnancy. Natalie received ultrasounds at 6 weeks, 8 weeks, 20 weeks (anatomy scan), and 36 weeks (to make sure she was head down), nothing set off red flags.

Mason underwent her first surgery, craniectomy, at 10 days old, and by God's grace it was successful. This is to separate the fused skull areas, correct the shape of the head, and allow for normal brain growth. She is currently still in the NICU, and stabilizing well after surgery. There are many, many tests still being ran, and answers we are still waiting for. Once she is able to stabilize overall, manage eating on her own, gain enough weight, she will be able to join her older brothers Logan, 4 and Grant 3, who anxiously await their little sissy's arrival at home.

We know from her medical team she will need more surgeries in the future. Besides the overwhelming and unforeseen out of pocket costs, we also know there is a huge gap between what insurance covers, and what kind of support, supplies and equipment Mason will actually need at home.

Mason's journey is still unfolding, she is teaching us more everyday, but we are very new to this. 13 days new to be exact. And although this is an extremely rare condition, she joins a village of fellow cranio warriors and we are thankful Marcus and Natalie have been able to connect with some. Ironically, we have learned that September is Craniosynostosis awareness month, so Ms. Mason timed this out perfectly.

Please keep the entire Renner family in your thoughts and prayers as they continue to navigate this journey.