Maverick ’s Story

Site created on March 16, 2021

Maverick Joseph Misunas

Born (4 weeks early) on 3/10 1:31pm 20 inches, 8lb 8.8oz (he’s a big boy for being early!)

Mav’s journey into this world has been a difficult one, but he is strong, he is a fighter, and he is proving that by doing better everyday. It started with a life-saving emergency c-section due to the umbilical cord becoming compressed from tight nuchal cords (wrapped around the neck) which caused an obstruction of blood flow. Mom came in that day because something didn’t feel right. That decision saved Maverick’s life.

After delivery he went through hypothermia therapy (whole body cooling) to help treat Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) - where blood and oxygen flows are cutoff to the brain. He was cooled to 33.5 degrees C for 72 hours, and then rewarmed by .5 C every hour. Mom didn’t get to hold Maverick until after the cooling and rewarming. Amazingly, no complications came up during this period!

Post hypothermia therapy, Mav received an MRI. It came back with some evidence that the brain has some injury, which was not a surprise given what he’s been through. The injuries are diffuse (unfortunately over a widespread area, vs focal which is a specific location), but mild (vs severe...great news here!). The cooling period helped let healing happen and gave him survival and the opportunity to improve neural outcomes down the road. There is no clear cut answer to what all of this means. It’s a very gray area and only over time will we know how Mav develops and if there are any lasting complications.

The Doctors have said they are amazed and pleased with the progress and improvements over the last few days (his breathing, color, movements, sucking, gag reflex, etc.), which are all steps in the right direction. His brain has so much time to develop due to plasticity of a young brain.

The next milestones to watch are breathing on his own (they removed the breathing tube and ventilator Monday after MRI) and feeding on his own (remove the feeding tube). Feeding may take extra time because he was born premature.


HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR PRAYER WARRIORS, FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND CARE PROVIDERS. WE APPRECIATE THE OUTPOURING LOVE AND SUPPORT. This will be a journey but we know each and everyone one of you is supporting and encouraging us every step of the way. It is making a BIG difference.

BIGGER SHOUT OUT TO THE MAN UPSTAIRS = GOD. He has been with us every step of the way and we continue to lean on HIM.
Staying strong! 🙏🏻💙💪🏻 Strong like Mav

Newest Update

O.N.E.

Journal entry by Amber Misunas —

Where to even begin. Today we celebrate Maverick turning ONE. It’s really hard to believe that a year ago our sweet boy entered the world fighting hard for his life. We were so unsure of the future as we learned about HIE (the wait and see game) and what that meant. Maverick sure has impressed us and we pray he continues doing great!

Looking back to those early days, I wasn’t sure if I would ever stop crying. And to tell you the truth, there were days and weeks where things were fine but this week…it’s been hard. It’s hard not revisiting that day over and over which brings emotions and then to be amazed by Maverick daily brings EVEN more emotions. 😭Thankfully I was able to spend the year at home taking care of our sweet boy, following up with our doctors and therapies, meeting new people that are on this journey helping us from the brain injury to the hearing aids, and soaking in SO many snuggles and cuddles.

The Past Few Months
Maverick was released from PT back in December at Gillette. It was a great program and we are thankful for the guidance. We still meet with the neurologist and we aren’t sure the timeline on follow-up there. The NICU program is wonderful and that will be about every six months until Mav is three. Hearing will be ongoing for life so we keep educating ourselves in ways to help him. Our Help Me Grow program through the school has been such a terrific help. We have monthly PT visits and monthly visits with our Deaf and Hard of Hearing coach. We will adjust the IEP in April to expand on the hearing side after we have our next hearing test. We pray his hearing doesn’t get worse (remember hearing cannot get better, but as Mav grows he will learn more to understand the hard of hearing pieces).  Right now we just try to keep him from pulling out his hearing aids (that’s why he wears a pilot cap most days).

Ellie is still Mav’s favorite big sister!! He loves her to pieces!!! For the most part she loves him equally as much. 🤗 

Mav is a busy boy and summer will be wild and crazy. He  walks along furniture and just started standing on his own this week. He will be running by summer. We pray by then we can figure out the sleep category. So far that’s where Mav struggles - and has YET TO SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT 😳 This is equally as true for mom (and I was the the queen 👑  of sleep). 

God has been with us every step of the way. I do believe I’ve prayed more this year than ever before. There is so much heartache in the world right now, but we keep leaning on HIM to guide us all.

We are praying for ALL families and friends. Thank you so much for the support over this last year. For now, I’ll close our first chapter and caring bridge posts. This site has been wonderful. God Bless you all.

Strong Like Mav
🙏 💙 💪🏻


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