Chanel couldn’t believe what was happening: she was being rushed into the delivery room four months early. Her baby, Kole, wasn’t due until October, and it was only June. She had a healthy pregnancy with no warning that her baby would be a micro-preemie. Kole only weighed 1 lb., 9 oz. but he came out kicking and ready to fight to live.
Delivered at another local hospital, tiny Kole faced big challenges during his first few weeks. The pulmonary team at Boston Children’s was called in right away to help with his complex case. They used medication to close a small hole between the chambers of Kole’s heart, but he still struggled to breathe.
The journey toward health
At 4 months old, Kole was transferred to Boston Children’s NICU where doctors recommended two surgeries. The first was to place a feeding tube to give Kole extra nutritional support. The second procedure worried Chanel and Kole’s dad, Lloyd. Doctors wanted to do a tracheostomy and insert a breathing tube into Kole’s windpipe to take the pressure off his underdeveloped lungs. The tube would protrude from his neck and be connected to a ventilator to help him breathe.
A special connection
That’s when their relationship to a mentor family, who knew just what they were going through, made a big impact. Chanel immediately bonded with another mom who had the same initial reluctance when told her own baby needed a tracheostomy. The mentor family shared their Boston Children’s journey and photos of their daughter, now in elementary school and thriving.
Seeing how beautifully [another family’s premie] baby had developed—to see her without tubes and a trach—gave us hope for Kole.
Chanel, Kole’s mom
A hard choice pays off
With a feeding tube and better respiratory support, Kole began to grow. A month after his surgeries, he was transferred to rehab. At 8 months, he had grown to 16 lbs. His family knew they made the right choice when they saw him smiling all the time and trying to roll over. Next, he reached up for the mobiles hanging above his crib and made a joyful racket with his kicking piano. His biggest smiles came when they sang, “The Wheels on the Bus.” It was the greatest day when 10-month-old Kole was finally well enough to go home.
He got his tube removed last summer and the hole repaired recently. Now age 3, Kole is happily trach-free.
