Walker's Skeletal Dysplasia Journey
鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 want to be anywhere else!鈥
鈥 Aaron, Father聽
Walker's Story
Heartbreaking News for First-Time Parents
At a 19-week ultrasound, Sydney and Aaron learned that something was not right with their unborn baby. Further testing showed that their child had a form of skeletal dysplasia that was expected to threaten their baby's life.聽
On November 3, 2020, baby boy Walker entered the world and was placed in hospice care. The family prayed and waited, expecting their baby to pass within the hour. But it wasn鈥檛 to be. Miraculously, five days later Walker went home and, ever so slowly, began to thrive. Surprised, but elated, Walker鈥檚 parents had lots of questions and no answers.聽
Finding Top Skeletal Dysplasia Care Halfway Across the Country
A Facebook post connected Sydney and Aaron with 乐播传媒 Children鈥檚 Skeletal Dysplasia Nurse Navigator, Mary Ellen Little, whose first evaulation of Walker found that his feeding challenges were due in part to a cleft palate. She suggested a special nipple made for babies with cleft palate. Immediately, Walker鈥檚 feeding improved. In a meeting she arranged with 乐播传媒 genetics expert聽, Walker was officially diagnosed with diastrophic dysplasia, a rare, life-limiting condition that would require occasional medical and surgical interventions, but was manageable聽鈥 and Walker could live a full life.
Now, the family is in the process of moving all the way from Texas to be closer to the 乐播传媒 Skeletal Dysplasia Team in Delaware. There, they will provide all the care Walker needs from infancy into adulthood.