Filipino mum Generose Jane Mesina and her husband waited six years before they were blessed with a child. Now, their beloved Christian Angelo has been diagnosed with VACTERL—a disorder that affects the various systems of the body—and is fighting for his life. They shared their story with theAsianparent.
Baby diagnosed with VACTERL
In a Facebook post, Christian Angelo’s mother shared how Christian Angelo was a very special baby. After waiting 6 years, she finally got pregnant on November of last year. All seemed to be going well, until she noticed that her belly had been growing faster than normal.
When she was 5 months pregnant, she looked like she was already full term. She found out later on that she had polyhydramnios, a condition wherein there was too much amniotic fluid in her womb because her child was unable to swallow.
On her 7th month of pregnancy, she underwent a congenital anomaly scan, and that’s when her OB/GYN found out that her baby had short femurs, which are the bones in the legs, and that the baby’s oesophagus wasn’t connected.
She shares, “It’s a very heartbreaking news. Because I was careful with my pregnancy. After hearing of the news I hoped for a miracle – miracle that God will make the baby in my womb normal.”
She finally gave birth to Christian Angelo, but was only able to see her child on the second day after her birth. That’s when their fears that he had a congenital disease were finally confirmed.
VACTERL
Christian Angelo was born with a condition known as VACTERL, which is an acronym for a number of diseases of various systems of the body. A child diagnosed with VACTERL suffers from the following:
V – Vertebral defects, or problems with the spine
A – Anal atresia, or blockage of the anus
C – Cardiac defects, or heart problems
T, E – Tracheo-esophageal fistula, or an abnormal connection between the trachea and the windpipe
R – Renal anomalies, or kidney problems
L – Limb abnormalities
Her boy is a fighter
Generose shares that her boy is a fighter, and has already undergone 2 operations: a colonoscopy to help him dispose of waste, and for the second operation oesophagus was taken out of his neck so that he would be able to breathe.
The next would be an operation on his kidneys, and once his condition improves, they will connect his oesophagus to the fistula, or the hole in his neck, so that he can breathe better. The doctors still are not sure about how they would be able to fix his legs, and his spinal column hasn’t completely fused yet.
Regardless, Generose and her family are praying and hoping that after all the operations, Christian Angelo would be able to live a normal life as a healthy baby. She’s very thankful for all of the other mothers who are donating their breastmilk, since due to the stress of taking care of her child, she’s unable to provide her own breastmilk for her son.
Those who wish to help baby Christian Angelo can do so by sending money through the BDO account below:
Generose Jane Mesina
BDO Savings Account – 00 39 902 72300
They can also reach out to her by visiting the Facebook page she created for her son. She also shares photos of his slowly improving condition on the Facebook page.
Hopefully their dreams for their beloved baby will soon come true, and Christian Angelo would be able to live a normal life.
Sources: facebook.com, ghr.nlm.nih.gov
*Republished with permission from theAsianparent Philippines
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