Mary and William Sargent, 24 and 27 respectively, were thrilled when they learned they would be having a child together. The pregnancy proceeded smoothly – up until week 19, when the couple went to find out the gender of their child.
At the 19-week ultrasound scan, the Sargents learned that they would have a daughter. And also that she would be born with an incredibly rare medical condition called gastroschisis. This meant that half of their daughter’s organs wouldn’t fit inside her abdomen.
Patients who suffer from gastroschisis are born with many of their internal organs still outside of their body, protruding from their abdomen from a hole that’s next to their belly button. The child’s abdominal wall failed to properly develop during pregnancy.
Doctors are currently uncertain what causes this massive birth defect to occur, but speculate that it happens after the intestines develop inside the umbilical cord and then gradually move out, into the abdomen, a few weeks later. During that time, the abdominal wall doesn't completely develop, causing the organs to eventually remain outside a child's body.
This birth defect happens only once in every 3,000 births, but is typically more common in mothers who are under 20 years of age.
For the Sargents, and their unborn daughter Elliotte, doctors could only promise that they would perform operations following Elliotte’s birth to try and replace all her organs inside her body.
In September 2016, the little girl was born, weighing just 6lb. 2oz. into a plastic bag.
Doctors had to immediately place her in this plastic bag to ensure that her exposed organs wouldn’t come into contact with oxygen and get infected.
Right after she was born, Elliotte was whisked away for surgery. “Before I even had a chance to hold her, she was whisked for surgery,” Mary recalled. Only her husband was able to accompany their newborn daughter to the operating room.
The procedure took two hours. As Mary delivered the placenta and recovering from her labor, Elliotte was having all of her organs put back into her body.
However, doctors weren’t able to fit everything – her stomach, bowels, fallopian tubes, and ovaries – back in immediately, so they were forced to continue covering some of the organs with a plastic bag outside of the little girl’s body.
Over the course of the next week, doctors waited for gravity to take its effect and help drop Elliotte’s remaining organs back into her body as she laid on her back. Over time, doctors were able to shorten the body bag containing Elliotte’s organs until on the 8th day, doctors were able to stitch her stomach back together.
That was the moment mother and daughter were finally reunited.
“Then, finally, I got to hold her,” Mary said. “It was an awesome moment. Completely wonderful.”
But even then, the new mother had to wait another 11 days before she could breastfeed her child. Up until that point, Elliotte had been PICC line-fed. On day 19, Mary was given the all clear and finally allowed to breastfeed her daughter.
“Seeing her drink my breast-milk was very emotional,” Mary admitted.
Elliotte is, thankfully, recovering well after all the surgeries she’s gone through for her young age.
Now, four months old, she still have to return to the hospital for regular checkups, but doctors say it is unlikely that she will need more procedures done in the future.
“She’s my miracle,” Mary gushed. “I wouldn’t be without her.”
