WHEN Tyler Walter Lloyd was born at Life Westville Hospital he had a smiling surgical team ready to catch him and take him straight into an operating theatre.
His mother, Monique Boucher, 23, had a routine scan when she was three months’ pregnant and it revealed that her baby had gastroschisis, a congenital birth condition. Tyler’s intestines had developed outside his abdominal cavity and required immediate surgery after he was delivered by Caesarean section.
“When I found out about Tyler’s condition I was devastated. We weren’t sure what to expect and I cried about it until the day we met with paediatrician, Dr André Botha, and paediatric surgeon, Dr Rinus Wiersma. They reassured us and explained the procedure to us in detail. We felt so much better after seeing them,” said Monique.
Gynaecologist obstetrician, Dr Jack Margolis, delivered Tyler by Caesarean section on 29 May, attended by Dr Botha. Then it was Dr Wiersma’s turn to surgically repair the gastroschisis through the baby’s belly button, which left no scarring. While Monique was being stitched up, Tyler was undergoing his surgery in the same theatre room as her. The doctors were quite impressed with Tyler’s ability to cope under the circumstances and recover well.
Tyler spent two weeks and three days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) before he was able to go home on 1 June, here again surprising the doctors as they thought he would be in hospital for six to eight weeks.
“Tyler is now six weeks old and he is doing so well. He sees Dr Botha every three weeks and the way things are looking now he won’t need any more treatment, his bowel is working perfectly. Dr Botha said Tyler is a fierce, strong little man,” said Monique.
Monique added that the experience had made them stronger as a family and brought them closer together.
“It has changed our lives completely and I would like to reassure other parents in similar situations. I also want to thank the amazing doctors who stood by us every step of the way, as well as family and friends for all their support. I’m also extremely proud of my son, who held strong all the way through,” said Monique.
