THE BOY WITH NO THROAT

My God, we were the luckiest of people.We both had moderate success and good health. All five children were grown up, happy and bursting with vitality. We were also fortunate to have nine grandchildren, all hale and hearty, growing like weeds.

Were we too smug ? Did we take it all for granted ? Did we assume life would proceed smoothly and contentedly until the day we died ? Perhaps we did...Never assume.

The period that followed this, 'dream come true' life and which lasted for about ten years, was fraught with tragedy after tragedy, blow following blow.
Not the least of which , was that the next three grandchildren to be born, all boys, had abnormalities. One had an extreme immune system deficiency, another had a rare genetic blood disorder.
Ian, the most beautiful baby I have ever seen, had the most tragic condition of all. He was born with no oesophagus.
The pregnancy was normal for the first four or five months, then my daughter-in-law started to become ill and swell up. She became quite toxic and had to be hospitalized. An amnio synthesis pin-pointed the problem. The baby wasn't taking in any of the amniotic fluids by mouth, as is normal. The doctors knew what that meant, some kind of obstruction, or a condition called Oesophageal Atresia.
It means that the throat ends at the back of the tongue and is sealed off. There is no tube leading to the stomach. The stomach is also sealed, with no entrance.

Further investigation revealed it was OA. The baby was already in distress. By seven and a half months, both baby and mom were in danger. They wanted to keep the baby inside her for as long as reasonably possible, so he could complete development, but they had to time it exactly right. The toxicity was reaching a dangerous level.
At eight months, they took the baby. His mother was ill and exhausted. Ian was incredibly beautiful, like a cherub. He looked perfect.
He was put on an IV of some sort, to keep him hydrated, and the doctors gathered around my poor daughter-in-law's bed, with my son, and told them they had to operate immediately.
They had to make a huge incision on that tiny little body, to see the extent of the situation. Time was of the essence. The baby would starve to death.

TO BE CONTINUED