The Middleton ’s Story

Site created on December 21, 2023

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.


Tuesday, December 19, 2023 started like any typical day. Mackenzie got up and got ready for work with no issues. Around 6:45AM she arrived to work at Iowa Methodist Medical Center, stepped out of her car, and her water broke unexpectedly. At the time she was 27 weeks 3 days. Luckily, she was right where she needed to be and headed to the OB ED to get checked out. After about 10 minutes she was told her water did in fact break and it was time to get admitted. A rush of nurses and midwives tended to her care starting antibiotics and obtaining necessary labs and cultures. At the time, she was not in active labor/having contractions so nothing further needed to be done at that time. With ruptured membranes, it puts their unborn son at high risk for infection, hence the need for close monitoring. Life changes so unexpectedly, even in a matter of seconds.  Fast forward a couple hours and she gets to her new “home” for potentially the next 6 weeks. Gut wrenching to hear those words. 6 weeks away from your home, your family, and your son.  You can imagine the burden on her husband, as he will be in working as much as possible to provide for his family before Mackenzie will need him 24/7.  Mackenzie’s mom, Linda is handling Wyatt during the weeks for the most part. That woman is a saint and Mackenzie, Tyler, and Wyatt would be lost without her!


Mackenzie met the NICU team including a neonatologist who provided an overwhelming but humble amount of information. The goal is to get Mackenzie to 34 weeks, but with ruptured membranes they aren’t sure she will make it that long. Hence why every hour, day, is taken as a “roll with the punches” type of attitude.   They will not be able to hold or touch their son for 2 weeks.  Any stimulation can cause risks for a premature baby, including intraventricular hemorrhaging (bleeding into the brain). He will see an opthamalogist weekly as premies run the risk of having retinal issues. All this and more, but they know they are where they need to be. 


Fast forward to later that day, around 3:15 pm, Mackenzie started going into active labor. She was administered a  magnesium bolus, followed by a continuous drip to help stop contractions and it worked, thankfully. That medicine is awful, and extremely hard on someone’s body. She was also placed on immediate bed rest, and not able to eat or drink. 

The night continued to be uneventful, but hooked up to lots of monitors and IV pumps, sleep was little to none. 


Mackenzie, Tyler, and their families have been overwhelmed with joy and support offerings from friends and family. They have been asked by many if they need help with funds, meals, help with Wyatt, etc.   They understand it’s the holiday season and it’s not a time to burden anyone.  But should you wish to send cards, gifts, flowers, etc; Mackenzie is located at


Iowa Methodist Medical Center  
1215 Woodland Avenue 
Younker Room 651 - Mackenzie Middleton
Des Moines, Iowa 50309


If you wish to just send money, Mackenzie’s Venmo is @MackMiddleton


Again, they are not asking for anything, but many have reached out wanting to help. 

Newest Update

December 25, 2023

Journal entry by Mackenzie Middleton —

Last night (Christmas Eve) they had baby on monitor all night and he behaved. Of course mom didn’t sleep much with all the monitors. The morning went fine. Mackenzie laid down to rest about 10am and her water broke again. She had a diagnosis of polyhydramnios so that’s why there was so much fluid. The OB doctor was rounding at The time and looked at the monitor then looked at Mackenzie and said “we are done, it’s time”. The OR, NICU team and staff were called to get prepared. Mackenzie had an emergency c section - baby was pulled from her and immediate assessment and line placements were done by the NICU team. He was placed on the ventilator and was ok for a couple minutes until he wasn’t. A chest xray did confirm the doctors suspicions of very little lung tissue. Obviously we need lungs to survive so they would just do what they could  help save the baby. 
Mackenzie had to Recover for 2 hours before she could head to the NICU. Once the two hours were up Tyler and her went to check on “baby Way”. His heart rate and oxygen levels have never been in a normal
Range. Another xray confirmed a collapsed
Lung. With how critical
His vitals were. We were told he may not tolerate/survive the procedure of a chest tube placement, but they wanted to give him a chance Knowing we did try and if it didn’t work we knew we gave him a shot. 
 
He did tolerate the chest tube however his vitals did not improve. They had another specialist come in and talk to
Tyler and Mackenzie. He sat them down and said he’s never seen this before in his 30 years of practice, but he’s confident baby has a congenital
Condition called restrictive dermopathy. And no matter what they would do, he would not survive. It is a lethal condition. He recommended baby be placed on mama and then all lines and tubes would be disconnected and he can pass peacefully in his mammas arms. After Tyler and Mackenzie digested the news, that’s what they did.
 
Waylon Tyler Middleton entered this world around 11:40am at 2 pounds 4 ounces. (they don’t have all the exact stats yet) and left peacefully at 6:29pm. 🕊️

Please respect Tyler and Mackenzie’s privacy during this horrible time.
Read More of the journal titled "December 25, 2023"
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