David Russ

Welcome to David's Caringbridge journal!  We hope that you enjoy getting updates on our little miracle baby.  Justin and I will be posting updates daily while he is in the hospital, after each appointment, and at least once a week.

David continues to have several appointments and sugeries within the next several years, and this has been a great way to keep family and friends updated on his care.
 
We appreciate all of the love and support being sent our way.  You will never know how much it means to us.

Much love and thanks,
Justin, Jeri-Lee & David Russ



So we are back at Johns Hopkins Hospital for the next several weeks.  David went into surgery on 9/24/10 for his episdias repair and things did not go as planned.  They found a hole in his bladder and another uretheral stricture.  To fix the problems, they had to reopen David's bladder and pull apart his pubic bones. Therefore he is in traction until 10/20/10 and if his xray looks well, they will let him stay out of traction and work on his feedings and wean him off his pain medication.  We are in for the long haul in Baltimore while David heals.  Please keep David in your thoughts and prayers while he heals.



To Our Friends and Family:

Thank you with all of our hearts for your support since David was born.  No words can explain how we felt the day he was born.  Our lives were changed in an hour; the doctors tell us that there was no way to have detected the condition earlier.  Justin and I feel very fortunate that we both know, even though we ask why, David was born to us for a reason.  Somehow, we know, too, God is not to question, and we will get through this together.

To help you understand David's condition: he was born with his bladder on the outside of his stomach.  This birth defect is called bladder exstrophy and it happens in only one out of every 40,000 babies.  It happens in the 4th to 8th week of pregnancy, and so, we were "chosen."

David has already recieved his first (second, third, fourth, fifth, and now SIXTH) surgery and he will continue to have surgeries throughout his life.  He will be wet all of the time for the next several years and will need other sugeries down the road, BUT, for now, he is a healthy, beautiful baby boy in every way and we feel proud God sent him to us.  We look forward to bringing him home in a few days and having family and friends visit with us.
 
I hope that this gives you some idea, and please, if you ever see any information on his condition, do let us know.   With technology the way it is now, we hope to find a cure.

Thank you for the beautiful cards, emails, and words of encouragement; how can we not get through this, you've all really made us feel very special.

Much Love,

Justin, Jeri-Lee & David Russ



David is now a pretty typical 4 month old baby boy! He will still have a long road to go down, but with the love and support he has been showered with since birth, he will be just fine! We continue to have monthly visits with his urologist, orthopedic surgeon, and gastroentologist.  We will be going to John Hopkins University in January 2010 to meet with Dr. Gearhart to discuss what steps to take next with David's care! We will post weekly updates and as he condition changes!



David Noah Russ was born on 8/8/09 with a rare condition called bladder exstrophy.  Bladder exstrophy occurs in about one of out every 40,000 to 50,000 babies.  Within 3 hours of birth, David was taken to nearby CHKD where it was determined that he would need to undergo a corrective surgery within the next 48-72 hours.  On 8/10/09, David underwent surgery to repair his problems.  After a long but sucessful surgery, David was placed in a Bucks Traction where his legs were suspened and pins were placed into his pubic area for 21 days to ensure everything healed properly.  David will have to undergo reconstructive surgery to his penis once he is 6 months old and then have a surgery around 4 years of age to strengthen his bladder.  This has been a learning experience for Justin & I!