Levi was diagnosed prenatally with right-sided MCDK - multicystic dysplastic kidney. This means only one of his kidneys developed and is functioning - the other one is shrinking and will eventually completely disappear. Just after Levi was born, his midwives saw that he had no anal opening - otherwise known as an imperforate anus. He was brought by ambulance to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, and for the next two days he was hooked up to all kinds of monitors and IVs, and was unable to be fed. On his third day of life (or two days after he was born), he was brought into surgery - just in time, as his belly was becoming quite distended. He was given a colostomy - an opening in his stomach where his colon was been re-routed to, in order to poop! A few more days in the NICU for monitoring and beginning feeding, and he was able to come home. He has had many appointments and plans since then for future surgeries. He will need to have an MRI of his spine, to check for a tethered cord and any other abnormalities there. Soon he will have his "pull through" surgery, where they will create the anal opening for him. Once that is healed, he will be able to have his colostomy closed. Lots of in-between procedures and updates along the way, so we decided to bring everything here in order to provide a way for family and friends to stay updated on his progress. Thank you for caring, and for coming alongside us in our journey!
