Support Baby Mack Karius
Kayla and Rick Karius welcomed their second baby boy to the world on July 16, 2021, Macklin True Karius. He was born exactly on his due date and weighed 7lb 4oz. Immediately after delivery, doctors and nurses noticed he wasn’t breathing correctly and was almost gasping for breath. They quickly called the NICU team, entered a breathing tube in his chest and told us to say a few words to him before they whisked him off to do some tests. After 2 hours (but what felt like an eternity), doctors returned to tell them that they diagnosed Mack with CDH (Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia). CDH is a birth defect where the diaphragm doesn’t develop properly, leaving a hole in it that allowed his bowel and liver to enter his chest cavity. Because these organs shifted up, they took over space for his lungs, so they weren’t able to grow to their proper size. CDH cases occur in about 1 in every 2,500 babies and only 10-15% of those cases have the hernia occurring on the right side (the side where Mack’s is). There’s no known cause for the defect and it likely was undeveloped already at 6-8 weeks along in Kayla’s pregnancy.
Doctors at their hospital in Des Moines made the quick and wise decision just 5 hours after his birth to transport him to University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital NICU. At just 2 days old, the neonatologists saw his numbers declining and decided it was time to give him more support in the form of an ECMO machine. The ECMO machine supports his heart and lung function by removing blood from his body, adding oxygen to it, and then returning it to his body. ECMO is not a cure. It’s a way to buy him time, so his body can now rest and his lungs have a chance to grow.
Since then, he’s also been hooked up to a dialysis machine, which will help remove extra fluids from his body throughout the ECMO journey. He will need surgery to correct the CDH, but the goal right now is to get him stable and strong enough to withstand the surgery. The doctors say this will be a long road ahead, likely requiring several months in the NICU.
Rick and Kayla were completely blindsided by this news as Mack’s CDH was undiagnosed throughout Kayla’s very normal and uneventful pregnancy (it’s very typical that CDH cases occurring on the right side are undiagnosed). They have been living in a whirlwind the last 6 days as they gather information and try to process a very new normal than what they were picturing with two baby boys.
A typical day now consists of many phone calls to Mack’s nurses to check in, spending mornings with their son Treyton (17 months) and then driving to Iowa City (about 4 hours total roundtrip) to spend about 4 hours with Macklin before driving home to put Treyton to bed. Unfortunately insurance only covers so much. This fund will help lighten the load with many expenses the family now has, including daily gas fill-ups, overnight hotel stays, medical bills, and long-term care for Mack.
Mainly they ask for your support in prayer as they are a family of faith and though completely unexpectedly, they have been handed a challenge that only God can help them face and conquer. We pray to a God who listens, and our hope is to have an army of prayer warriors calling out to God for Mack’s strength and healing every day. They greatly appreciate your love, support and prayers along the way.