For those who are asking how they can help, we have set up a Go Fund Me page for Zach, Jenna, and Oliver to help with any unexpected expenses. Zach and Jenna will be staying as close as possible to Oliver to make sure they can support him through this and to make sure they are in tune with his entire medical team as they navigate each day.
https://www.gofundme.com/oliver-jaymes-fundOliver "Ollie" Jaymes Pierce, a 16.5" long, 6lb 5oz STUD of a man entered into the universe (a bit early) on Saturday, June 16th at 9:23 in the morning. Oliver had a scheduled c-section for June 29th, but decided he couldn't wait another year to wish me a Happy Father's Day. My beautiful wife, Jenna, is doing great and on a quick road to recovery.
After a long year, where Jenna and I experienced 2 losses with an ectopic pregnancy and a miscarriage, we found out Jenna was pregnant for a third time in September of 2017. We were overjoyed but nervous. At about 13 weeks, Ollie's Ultrasound showed that he had a Giant Omphalocele. Omphalocele is a rare birth defect where the abdominal cavity fails to form normally. It is a type of abdominal wall defect in which the bowel, liver and other abdominal organs protrude out of the abdomen and into the base of the umbilical cord. Due to the size, and the liver being inside the Omphalocele sac, it is considered "Giant'. Once we found out what he had, we had to try to find out the "why". Many times, there are chromosome or genetic abnormalities that cause this. Many of those abnormalities are not viable, which made for a very scary few weeks. After weeks of testing, and waiting, there were no ties to this being related to a chromosome or genetic abnormality, but more pointing to an isolated Omphalocele - which was the best diagnosis we could have gotten. With this diagnosis, we knew Oliver would ultimately be under the care of the nurses, doctors, and surgeons at the Children's Hospital for many many months.
Oliver has a long road ahead of him, where he will be staying indefinitely at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Boston Children's Hospital. Oliver is stable and making his medical team very happy in his first 48 hours. He is a strong, determined, and perfect little boy. He's got a great crew of animals to keep him company, and some Jordan swag to keep him looking fresh.
We will do our best to update his journal every couple of days, and add photos for everyone to follow along.
