Miracle Maverick.
The perfect story for Thanksgiving.
We first met Maverick in Knightly’s early intervention program. His mom walked in with her adorable clothes and carrying little Maverick who wore the CUTEST outfit on ever (we were later to learn that he has the coolest wardrobe that Knightly wants to copy). But, aside from his stylish attire, the first thing we noticed was that he had tubes in his nose and that, everywhere they went, his mom had to carry an oxygen tank to which he was attached.
We saw them move from station to station, up and down stairs, week after week, with Maverick’s mom carrying him cheerfully along with a heavy load of medical equipment Maverick needed.
And through it all, they were just rays of sunshine.
We had to share their story.
Maverick’s story as told by his amazing mom
The story of Maverick started when I was admitted into the hospital at 27 weeks, 2 days pregnant for extremely high blood pressure caused by pregnancy. That specific morning, I was not feeling well. When I measured my blood pressure at home, I was getting readings of 219/110. When blood pressure gets that out of control, it puts people at a dangerously high risk of having a seizure or stroke, so off to the hospital my husband and I went. There, I was hooked up to a blood pressure cuff where it measured me every 15 minutes. After a few hours my blood pressure decreased, but it was still on the high side. We were soon told that they would need to transfer me to another hospital where they could care for babies born so early, in case delivery was required. At that time, I don’t think I grasped the severity of the situation. I was hopeful that they could get my blood pressure under control and that the worse-case scenario was hospital bed rest.
When we got to the new hospital, they administered steroids for our baby’s lungs. The steroids are given to help speed up lung development, just in case the baby needs to be born early. The next few days, I continued to feel more ill. I was going downhill fast. My blood pressure continued to remain high, I had protein in my urine, my liver enzymes were elevated, my platelets were decreasing, and I was vomiting with a raging neckache. They eventually diagnosed me with HELLP syndrome, which is a severe case of preeclampsia. Unfortunately with this diagnosis, there is only one way to make it better – deliver the baby. I remember hearing, “We are going to have to do an emergency C-section at 11 PM tonight.”
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I immediately began to cry.
I had no control in this situation. I was so sick, but was so scared for my baby.
I didn’t know what was going to happen, and feared deeply of the unknown.
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They began preparing me for surgery, and off we went. The surgery felt like an out-of-body experience. I knew what was happening, but didn’t really feel like I was there.
I am sad to say I didn’t even hear him cry.
Thankfully my husband did. I didn’t know what was going on with my baby. I had a blind trust with the hospital staff and assumed that my baby was ok.
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Before I could even meet him, he was whisked off to the NICU.
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Maverick Ryder Jones was born on Sunday, July 29th, 2012 at 11:51 PM. He weighed less than 1 lb. 13 oz. and was about 13 inches long.
After surgery, my husband and I were able to meet our son for the first time.
They rolled me on the hospital bed straight from surgery into the NICU to finally meet Maverick. It was surreal to say the least. Definitely not how any mother dreams of meeting their baby for the first time.
I remember seeing all the equipment and being amazed at the amount of machines that were helping him stay alive, and being so thankful that he was surviving.
He was so perfect, just super tiny!
At that moment, our world had been rocked and all expectations of pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting had been thrown out the window.
Maverick’s first home was a Hospital’s NICU; his first bed was a NICU Isolette.
We were not able to hold him until he was 11 days old, and then it was only if he was stable enough to do so.
Prematurity is tough on a little one’s body, so they are unable to handle a lot of stimulation or touch. Maverick was struggling to breathe and was fighting for his life, something no innocent newborn should ever have to endure. We were thrown into a world of respirators, C-PAPs (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure), D-Sats (Oxygen desaturations), PDA (heart condition), Chronic Lung Disease (immature and damaged lungs), and Grade 3 Intraventricular Hemorrhage (Brain Bleed).
My husband and I made a point to visit our son 1-2 times a day. I would typically visit him on my own in the morning and then we would do a long visit with him in the evenings. We did not miss one single day.
Most days we would just sit next to his isolette and stare at the machines and were hopeful that he would grow and thrive.
We would catch ourselves rooting for his desaturations to come up on their own, so intervention (like more oxygen) was not needed. Other days we were able to hold him skin to skin or hold him in our arms. We were involved with all his cares when we were there – Changing his tiny diaper, taking his temperature, and eventually putting clothes on him as he grew.
These sound like everyday things for typical mom’s, but for me I looked forward to every single wet or poopy butt, every cuddle I could get, and anything and everything I could do for him while I was there.
Maverick spent 6 days on the respirator/ventilator, a month and a half on the CPAP, and eventually he was able to transition to a nasal cannula. Some people have the impression that all babies born prematurely just need to gain weight and then go home. That is a mistake. Babies born this early have a lot of negatives against them. Due to their frailness and prematurity, they may endure heart problems, lung disease, blindness, infection, brain damage, etc. Every second spent in a mother’s womb is an essential part of a developing baby. Babies were meant for growing in mommies, not in isolettes.
Throughout Maverick’s 76 day stay, he was cared for by amazing, caring nurses and responsible doctors. Of course, I did not like the fact that they were caring for him over me, but I was able to accept that he was in the best care possible for the condition he was in.
When you have a baby in the NICU, there are many milestones that they are expected to reach before being discharged.
1. Breathe without supplemental oxygen -This was our biggest barrier. Since Maverick battled Chronic Lung Disease, he needed the oxygen to give his lungs an opportunity to repair and heal.
2. Outgrow A’s and B’s (Apnea and Bradycardia); thankfully Maverick did not suffer from many of these.
3. Take all feedings by mouth –Sucking and swallowing requires a lot of strength and coordination, so they are typical fed through a tube and then weaned to a bottle or breast. Maverick caught on rather quickly to this and seemed to really love to eat.
4. Maintain a stable temperature – Be able to stay warm outside an isolette.
There are exceptions to these rules with some hospitals.
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Maverick was an exception.
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After 76 days, we were finally able to bring home our little miracle.
Babies with such low birth weight and early gestation don’t always have the best outcome. We were truly blessed to have our boy come home with having no serious surgeries. His PDA was healed with medication, his Intraventricular Hemorrhage was decreasing in size and being reabsorbed, and his breathing was stable without scary desaturations. Unfortunately, prematurity struggles do not stop when a baby is discharged from the NICU. Since Maverick was still battling Chronic Lung Disease, he was sent home on 24 hours a day oxygen support through a nasal cannula, many medications, and several doctor and therapy appointments. I definitely had moments of exhaustion, but most moments were filled with thankfulness and joy that he was finally home with US!!!
The next few months seemed to go by slowly.
Since Maverick’s lungs were so fragile, we were told that we needed to keep him healthy to prevent him from getting sick and being re-hospitalized. This meant that we were to stay at home and not expose him to germs. If we had visitors, they were to wash their hands before touching him. We would also ask that if anyone was sick that they heal up before visiting. This was a new, awkward place for me. I didn’t like having to be a “Germaphobe”, but I know I needed to be in order to keep my son healthy. I feared even taking him to his appointments or therapies that he could get sick. I did not want him back in the hospital.
At 12 months, Maverick no longer needed supplemental oxygen. That was a great milestone to meet!
As the months passed, Maverick continued to get stronger and stronger. He started reaching typical baby milestones, but on his own time line. Every milestone he met was hard work for both Maverick and me. I would watch typical babies and be in amazement of what they could do on their own with no intervention. It just reinforced how awesome our little guy was and how much character he will develop because of his beginnings.
It’s been a long, emotional, exhausting, and amazing journey with our Miracle Maverick. He is now almost 16 Months old and is WALKING!!! I think this is my all-time favorite milestone he has ever met. When he was in the hospital and they told us the news of the Intraventricular Hemorrhage, they informed us that it can lead to big long term problems- one being cerebral palsy. With him up and walking, I feel a huge sense of relief.
Maverick is now nearly 22 lbs and a little over 30 inches long. He loves being thrown up in the air, tickled, playing with balls and other kids, eating crunchy food, and exploring his environment.
I truly believe that he is doing so well, because of the great medical care he received from Kaiser, his involvement in group and individual therapy, the amazing family and friends he is surrounded by, and his own drive for life.
We have received many prayers and positive thoughts for our boy and we are so thankful for all the continued love and support.
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Our little Maverick has come a long way to become the miracle he is. We look forward to every day we get to spend with him as he grows up.
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We are so proud of him and love him to pieces! XOXO
To our dear readers, may you feel blessed this Thanksgiving. We wish you and yours a wonderful, joyous holiday season.
We praise God for the miracle of life…
and for miracles like Maverick.
Happy Thanksgiving <3
With our love,
The Parks
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- Family Photographers | D. Park Photography
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