Rhaela

A Dilated Bowel Warrior

At our 32-week ultrasound, we discovered something didn’t look quite right with Rhaela’s bowels. After some follow-up appointments, it was determined that she was going to need surgery shortly after she was born to see what was going on and fix it. We hoped it was just an atresia (bowel blockage) where they would go in and remove the blockage and reconnect the bowel.

She had surgery 36 hours after being born, and it was discovered that there was a lot more going on than just a blockage, which resulted in her needing an ostomy bag for a while. This obviously added more time to our NICU stay and would require a second surgery.

Our fierce little girl rocked the ostomy and gobbled up all the milk we could give her, and shortly before turning 3 months old, they went back in to connect her bowels. Surgery went so well, and Rhaela was excited to start eating again and gradually increase volume. After 97 days in the NICU, 2 surgeries, and countless snuggles, we were finally able to bring her home for the first time on Mother’s Day. 🫶🏼