Our Story
Gabriel was born on November 18, 2006 after a relatively easy labor and delivery. Immediately after birth it was obvious that Gabe was having problems breathing and they took him away to be evaluated. After over an hour of waiting a doctor finally came back and gave us the news. Gabriel had been born with an undiagnosed Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) and needed to be transferred immediately to a hospital that could do a surgical repair. They brought him in for me to see in an incubator where I was able to touch his hand before they took him away to Women & Infants hospital. For two days they tried to stabalize him, unsuccessfully, with different ventillators. He needed to be transfered again to a hospital that had ECMO (a heart and lung bypass machine).
They transferred Gabe up to Mass General Hospital where the doctors were able to put him on ECMO. Iit was a roller coaster ride of emotions. Some days he would look like he was doing great and improving, but there always seemed to be another complication that needed to be overcome. Gabriel spent 36 days on ECMO, and went through multiple surgeries and procedures. He was finally able to come off the bypass machine the day after Christmas. We were able to hold him for the first time on New Years Day and enjoy our little man.
The night of January 11th he took a serious turn for the worse. He was severely swollen and couldn't keep his O2 SATS up, even on full support of a ventilator. There was nothing more they could do. We knew Gabe was telling us that he couldn't fight anymore and we had to let go. Early in the morning on January 12th we held our boy for the 2nd and last time as he passed away peacefully in our arms. Although he was only here for a short time, he touched so many lives, was loved by so many and will always be in our hearts.
Gabriel's little sister, Makayla, was born on February 15, 2008. At 10lbs 4 oz she made her way into the world through a difficult delivery. She recovered quickly and luckily only had to spend two days in the NICU before coming home. We know how blessed we are to have our little girl healthy and happy, and never take a moment for granted.
Corin (Gabe's mother) and Jeanne (Gabe's grandmother) started Gabriel's Gift because we understand the stress of having a sick child in the NICU. Our goal is to give comfort and support through this project. Being in the NICU, especially for an extended stay, can be tough, but we want to let parents know that they are not alone.