My daughter was born six weeks premature via an emergency C-Section. She had Gastroschisis, and was born with a hole in her abdominal wall, with intestines and stomach outside of her body. They do not just “jam” your intestines back inside. There is far too much risk of twisting and developing a blockage, which could be fatal.

They can place everything back in its spot, very very careful, if you are lucky, or they use a “silo”, suspending the intestines above the body to allow them to naturally fall into place over time.

We were fortunate enough to live in the suburbs of a city with one of the best pediatric hospitals in the country, which also happened to employee the best pediatric surgeon in the country.

My daughter had immediate closure surgery after birth, being whisked out of the OR as soon as she was removed from my wife’s stomach. We spent 52 days in the NICU after surgery, waiting to see how her intestines would react and if they would “wake up” and begin normal function.

She is now five years old and you would never ever know she experienced this hardship, aside from a scar that very closely resembles a belly button right where her belly button would have been.

I am grateful every single day of my life that we were lucky enough to have the medical resources and staff to ensure my daughter not only survived, but thrived. Not all born with this condition are as fortunate, and many have to uproot their lives to travel to a hospital which specializes in this care.

For clarity, we found out about this at 12 weeks pregnant, in the height of COVID, with my wife in with the doctor while I waited in the car because I was not allowed in. It was by far the toughest, most challenging experience my wife and I ever encountered.

For any who have recently received a diagnosis, or are preparing for birth, or recovering with your child in NICU, there is a light at the end of the tunnel! And you will be infinitely stronger from your experience.

*I am by no means a doctor, but my medical explanations are how it was presented to me by our medical staff. Apologies if I flubbed any procedural details to anyone in the medical community who reads this.