Meet Kayden
Kayden is a busy, boisterous boy whose presence lights up the room. After a rare diagnosis while in utero and further complications after birth, Kayden’s family was unsure if he would survive. Thanks to expert care at the Stollery, Kayden has not only survived but is thriving and keeping his parents busy.
During an ultrasound at 13 weeks pregnant, Kayden’s parents found out that Kayden had omphalocele, a rare birth defect of the abdominal wall. This meant that Kayden’s abdominal cavity hadn’t closed, and his stomach, intestines and liver were growing in a sac outside of his body. His parents met with a surgeon at the Stollery at 20 weeks pregnant, where Kayden was also diagnosed with pentalogy of Cantrell. In addition to his omphalocele, he had two holes in his heart, a shortened sternum and a hole in his diaphragm.
Kayden was delivered and taken to the Stollery on the day he was born. He spent 291 days at the Stollery receiving life-saving care to beat the odds before he was discharged. When he came home, an array of medical equipment and supplies came home with him. He had tracheostomy and was hooked up to a ventilator. He also had a feeding tube, a tube to vent air out of his stomach and plenty of supplies to take care of his omphalocele. At 15 months old, Kayden had heart surgery to close the hole in his heart, and at 18 months old, he had major abdominal surgery to close his omphalocele. He came home with just one last tube – a G-tube for feeding.
Kayden continues to be seen by his Stollery cardiology team every three months, and is closely followed by his general surgeon, ENT team, nutritionist and pediatrician. His family is hoping he will soon no longer need his G-tube, but in the meantime thanks to his Stollery team, Kayden is busy being a kid – playing, going outside and helping take care of his family dogs.
