Support Hudson and his family

Kara and Ethan found out early on in their pregnancy that this time would be a little different from their past experience having a baby. Everything was going well and appointments were normal until about 20 weeks. Kara went in for a routine ultrasound when the doctors saw what they thought to be a defect in the growth of the baby’s spine. They did some extra imaging the following week and confirmed their suspicions. At around 20 weeks, Hudson was officially diagnosed with Spina bifida myelomeningocele, a neural tube defect where part of the spinal cord and nerves remain exposed, and the spine doesn’t close all the way.

They started their journey at Froedtert but were soon transferred to Children's Hospital Milwaukee where they received care and checkups during the remainder of the pregnancy. There were lots of appointments, sometimes multiple times per week to track growth and monitor for any changes. Hudson was born on December 28th, 2022 at Froedtert and was almost immediately moved to the NICU at Children’s Hospital where he is still recovering. He had some difficulty breathing and had to be intubated to protect his airway.

Less than 48 hours after birth, Hudson underwent a procedure to repair the opening and close the defect on his back. The procedure was successful and went very smoothly. However, due to the size of the defect, the surgeons had to make an incision across his back to allow the skin to close over the site. Due to the surgery, Hudson has restrictions on activity and is not allowed to flex his hips or legs at all. Doing so could damage the repairs they have made if it isn’t allowed to fully heal first. Hudson has a feeding tube now that he receives his nutrition through. He will have that until he can eat on his own. Doctors created a one-of-a-kind foam positioning device that holds his legs and torso straight so that there is no stress to the surgical site. Hudson is not able to lie on his back and has to remain on his stomach or one of his sides at all times. He was put on a regiment of antibiotics, pain medications, and nutrition via IV. Several days later, doctors removed his breathing tube, and he did well initially, but then he began to have issues maintaining his airway. As a result, he was re-intubated for the time being until they can figure out the cause and a better solution.

Most recently Hudson began to develop some signs of hydrocephalus, which is very common in children with his condition. Hydrocephalus is a condition where there is excess fluid buildup in the brain. In Hudson’s case, this was a result of the repair done to his back. There is nowhere for the fluid buildup to go, so it can build pressure and cause issues with the signals in his brain that tell his body what to do. Hudson had surgery again to place a shunt that will allow his excess fluid to move from his brain to his abdomen where it can be reabsorbed by his body.

Hudson has a long road ahead and a lot of obstacles to overcome, but he is a little fighter and is improving every day. At the very least he’s giving his NICU nurses a run for their money and making sure they give him their undivided attention and he has become a bit of a ladies' man. Hudson has the best teams of doctors and nurses at his side 24/7 making sure he gets the care he needs and continues to make progress towards going home.

Kara and Ethan have been driving to and from the hospital daily to visit Hudson to make sure he feels comfortable and know his family is here fighting with him. His big brother Eli is a trooper too. He’s been shipped around quite a bit with family and friends while his parents spend time with Hudson. Eli has only been able to see his little brother via FaceTime or pictures. Nonetheless, Eli is a proud big brother, happy to see all the pictures, send care packages, and make sure everyone knows about his little brother Hudson.

Kara, Ethan, Eli and Hudson would like to thank everyone for all of the love and support. It has been a journey and they are learning a little more every day. The outreach and prayers from family, friends, doctors, nurses, and even complete strangers has been so wonderful and honestly just amazing to see firsthand. Thank you, everyone, it is appreciated more than you will ever know.