Ava's Story

Hi my name is Ashley and my daughter Ava had surgery for LM at just 14 days old. It was a complete nightmare. Here is my story....Right after giving birth to my daughter Ava who was full term 8lbs 6oz 21in long I noticed she was breathing weird. I asked numerous doctors and nurses what they thought. Everyone told me she was fine. Even my friends and relatives that visited thought something just was not right. But I was the crazy new mom and I was told she was fine. She continued to breath funny and it became very hard for her to eat. I took her to the doctor At just 10 days old for her check up. I then told the doctor that she was breathing very noisy and sometimes seemed like she couldn't breath. I was AGAIN told she was fine. That night at home while trying to feed her she struggled so much that I got mad, called the doctor and said I wanted to be sent to a specialist. They gave me a number to a ENT at children's hospital. I called and they ended up squeezing me in 3 days later. When I got there they scoped her right away. I was then told that she had severe LM and would need surgery that week. I couldn't believe it. I was beyond upset, sick, and scared. All this time I had been told she was ok. The ENT then asked me to feed my daughter. So I did and she saw how much she struggled. At this point she could barley eat. After watching her eat we were immediately transferred to the ICU at Children's hospital Hospital. She was scheduled for surgery the next morning at 10 a.m.  The Dr. Then decided to put off all other surgeries and do Avas at 6a.m. Surgery went well until they tried to recover her from anesthesia. She stopped breathing numerous times. It took about 5 hours post surgery for her to be stable. We then spent the next 7 days in the ICU. She was kept on monitors for 1.5 weeks after surgery and She continued to have strider for 6 months post surgery but not as bad. She is now 18 months old and doing great! I always tell people you know your child best! Parents always know something is wrong and do not let a doctor tell you otherwise!

- LM Supermom Ashley.