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Little Coby Christianson's arrival into the world outside of his mommy's tummy was much more complicated than most.

His mom, JoDee (Hlatky) Christianson, who lives in St. Cloud with husband Jarrod had to travel all the way to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to wait for his arrival.

A special delivery procedure was on the docket for mom and baby which entailed a scheduled c-section like operation.

It was discovered at JoDee's first ultrasound at 21 weeks gestation, that her baby had large lungs, a small heart and fluid in his abdomen. With these findings, further investigation was in order.

After a more in-depth ultrasound a week later, it was confirmed that the baby had Congenital High Airway Obstruction Syndrome (CHAOS).

"We were at a loss for words and so was the doctor that delivered the news," noted JoDee in a CaringBridge entry of their reaction.

"I was just numb and emotionless and then it just hit. You canít hold back tears after hearing what we had heard. Neither one of us went back to work that day. While we both were scared, our fear soon turned into drive to learn as much as we could. If there was an article or picture online, we saw it and read it," JoDee said.

This rare syndrome has only 60 reported cases worldwide to date, with a very low survival rate.

CHAOS is when there is complete or nearly complete obstruction of the fetal airway that blocks the upper trachea (windpipe) or larynx (voice box). This can be caused by a cyst in the larynx, a membrane that blocks the larynx or trachea, a malformation that closes off the trachea or larynx or a narrowing of the glottis. This obstruction causes the lungs to swell and elongate, the tracheobronchial tree to dilate and can cause congenital heart failure.

This was a very scary diagnosis for this young couple expecting their first child and the reason for JoDeeís trip to the Childrenís Hospital of Philadelphia to one of the few hospitals in the nation that could perform a crucial surgical procedure before her baby needed to breath on its own. A procedure that could save its life.

JoDee arrived in the Philadelphia area and stayed at a Ronald McDonald House for three weeks before she gave birth to baby Coby this past June 24. He entered the world a few weeks early when JoDeeís water broke. Doctors performed an emergency EXIT (ex utero intrapartum treatment) procedure to secure baby Cobyís airway before the air exchange through the umbilical cord was clamped off.

Weighing in at five pounds, five ounces at birth, Coby has proven to be a little fighter. Although it was confirmed by doctors that he has a complete blockage of his airway right next to his vocal chords, with the aid of a tracheostomy tube, he is thriving and now weighs almost nine and a half pounds.

He could have been born with a lot of other birth defects because of the CHAOS, but luckily there were none others.

He was able to be transferred to Minneapolis Childrenís Hospital after only three weeks in Philadelphia because of his steady progress. Coby did very well after being transferred to Minnesota. There was soon talk of him being able to be brought home.

ěItís hard to believe we are only days away now [from going home]. I just sit back and reflect on the months that have passed and as I share our story with others, there has just been one miracle after another that has no other explanation other than there has definitely been a high power present and at work in our lives,î JoDee noted just days before taking Coby home from the hospital.

JoDee and Jarrod had to take classes to be able to care for Coby, including how to do emergency trach changes and CPR.

ěIt was good to have the training, but a little scary thinking about the possibility of ever having to use it,î JoDee noted.

Although they have been trained, a home health nurse provides care for him 12 hours a day, seven days a week at their St. Cloud home.

When people ask them how it is going at home, JoDee said, ěWe keep saying this is our first baby and we donít know any different.î

Looking at this bright-eyed, red-haired baby boy one wouldnít even know that he has this condition, but the ever presence of his trach tube, is a constant reminder to others that he needs some extra special care.

Coby is like any other baby his age as he spends a lot of his time eating and sleeping. He sleeps very quietly and after resting is usually hungry. Once he starts moving or crying, he needs to have his secretions suctioned out of his trach tube.

ěHe is unable to cough them out like we can, this is usually pretty noisy, so that is one way we can tell when he is awake, crying or hungry,î said JoDee.

Because of the airway blockage being in the vocal chord area, when he cries itís silent, as are his sneezes and hiccups.

In January he will have another scope procedure from the bottom up to see how much blockage there is in the airway. Doctors anticipate that surgery to repair his airway will take place when he is between two and three years old.

The surgery will entail removing cartilage from his rib area to be placed in the trachea to keep it open. Only time will tell as to the level of voice function he will have after the surgery.

JoDee and Jarrod feel so blessed to have Coby because only a handful of kids have survived from this non-genetic condition.

Since ultrasounds are routine in pregnancies nowadays, prenatal conditions are much easier to detect. If an ultrasound had not been performed, Cobyís story may have had a much different ending. Thanks to medical technology, his story continues......

Editorís note: JoDee is a 2000 graduate of Eagle Valley High School and the daughter of Richard and DeeDee Hlatky of rural Eagle Bend.

To follow Cobyís progress, go to www.caringbridge.org and type in ěbaby christiansonî.

After months of worrying about her babyís health, to finally have baby Coby in her arms brought JoDee great joy and comfort.