Our baby boy was born with esophageal atresia — a serious congenital condition that has meant surgeries and a fight for his health from the very beginning.

Shortly after birth, doctors made several attempts to connect his esophagus. Unfortunately, the treatment did not go as everyone had hoped. After one of the surgeries, the connection leaked, leading to very serious complications involving the mediastinum and lungs, as well as a pneumothorax.

Eventually, it became necessary to create a cervical esophagostomy and a gastrostomy, through which our baby is fed.

After many weeks of treatment, his condition finally improved enough for him to come home.

For about six weeks, we were able to be together as a family again.

Unfortunately, worrying symptoms began to appear. In early May, our baby was admitted to hospital again with severe aspiration pneumonia and was subsequently transferred to intensive care.

He spent almost a month in the ICU.

During that time, we travelled approximately 100 km every day just to be with him.

Our baby remains in hospital today, now on the gastroenterology ward. His condition has improved, although he still requires a small amount of oxygen support.

But his medical journey is far from over.

Doctors have also noticed features that may indicate an underlying genetic condition or syndrome. One of the possibilities being investigated is CHARGE syndrome.

At this stage of his hospitalization, the genetic testing available in the hospital was limited to a chromosomal microarray. Broader genetic testing would only be partly available later on an outpatient basis, after discharge, which would mean further waiting.

Because of our son's condition and the importance of obtaining answers for his future diagnosis and care, we decided to have comprehensive genetic testing performed privately. The test cost us PLN 8,000 (approximately USD 2,200).

There are now two important surgical stages ahead of him.

The first will be a procedure to remove a diverticulum that may be contributing to his recurrent infections and pneumonia.

After that, he will face the major operation we have been waiting for — reconstruction of the continuity of his esophagus.

This surgery is planned at a specialist hospital more than 240 km from our home.

Treatment will not end the day after surgery. There will be a hospital stay, the gradual process of learning to feed again, follow-up examinations and further appointments with specialists.

We also have two other young children. During this next stage, we want to remain together as a family while staying as close to our baby as possible.

Repeatedly travelling hundreds of kilometres for weeks or months would be extremely difficult for us, both financially and practically. At the same time, separating one parent from our other two children for an extended period would also be very hard on them.

This is why one of our most important goals is to rent a small apartment near the specialist hospital during our baby's surgery, hospitalization and the first stage of his recovery.

Funds raised will primarily help with:

• travel to the hospital and future specialist appointments,
• the costs of our family staying away from home during treatment,
• renting a small apartment near the hospital,
• part of the genetic testing costs and other expenses directly related to our son's treatment.

We are not asking anyone to solve all of our problems or cover every expense. We are simply asking for some help getting through the most difficult stage of our son's treatment while allowing our family to remain together.

Every contribution, even a small one, brings us closer to that goal. If many people each give a little, together it can make an enormous difference for our family.

If you cannot contribute, simply sharing our story can help it reach someone who can.

Medical documentation

We understand that we are asking people who do not know us personally to trust our story. For this reason, we have included excerpts from redacted medical documentation confirming our baby's diagnosis and the major medical procedures described above.

All personally identifying information has been removed to protect our child's privacy.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story, and thank you for any help you can give.

With gratitude,
our family ❤️