Jeremiah Alex Bourgoin's Giant Omphalocele
I was talking to Michelle (counselor at Camp Good News) last night, and asked her how her brother's family was doing. I was eager to hear, because she had shared with me that her sister-in-law was pregnant, and the baby - who had a giant omphalocele - was scheduled to be delivered by Caesarean on August 10th (just last week).What is omphalocele? Here are a couple definitions:
Quote:
| An omphalocele is a congenital (found at birth) malformation in which variable amounts of abdominal contents protrude into the base of the umbilical cord. As the fetus grows in pregnancy, the intestines grow and get longer and project from the abdomen into the umbilical cord. This growth is taking place from the sixth to the tenth week of pregnancy. Normally the intestines return rapidly into the abdomen by the eleventh week of pregnancy. If this fails to happen, an omphalocele is present. |
-taken from http://www.pedisurg.com/PtEduc/Omphalocele.htm
Quote:
| An omphalocele is an abnormality in newborns in which the infant's intestine or other abdominal organs protrude from the navel. The intestines are covered only by abdominal membrane, and can be easily seen. |
-taken from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000994.htm
So I was thrilled to hear that the baby was safely delivered, and made it through his first round of surgeries. Apparently the baby is fairly unique in having what's called a "giant" omphalocele which contains his liver, intestine and stomach.
And guess what! Jeremiah has his own website! You can visit Jeremiah by clicking on the link below:
Jeremiah Alex Bourgoin
The site has some "graphic" pictures, but don't worry...the graphic pictures are all listed on a separate page and clearly marked, so you won't accidentally visit them if you don't want to see gross stuff.
You can check out the "My Story" section of the website and discover Jeremiah "telling his own story" - a cute and informative way of keeping people updated on his progress.
But my favorite part of the site is the Bible verse quotation on the home page, just under the picture of Jeremiah:
Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you..." - Jeremiah 1:5
What a precious reminder of the hope and promise that this child is special in God's eyes, and God doesn't "make mistakes". And the child's own name is a reminder of this promise.
Now...if only I could figure out how to pronounce omphalocele.
Posted On Aug 16, 2005 at 1:14 PM
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