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Memes for Jesus Co-Founder Celebrates Major Milestone for Son in NICU
By Movieguide® Contributor
After over a month in the NICU, Michael Schaffer’s son, Ezra, was able to breathe on his own after his breathing tube was removed.
Ezra was born on April 19, with a condition called congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). Having CDH meant that Ezra had a hole in his diaphragm, which caused his abdominal organs to move into his chest cavity during development, leading to underdeveloped lungs.
CDH is treatable; however, it requires two surgeries. During the first surgery, doctors guide the internal organs below the diaphragm to make room for the lungs to grow. The second surgery fixes an issue of hypertension due to underdeveloped blood vessels within the lungs. Ezra was strong enough to undergo these surgeries about two weeks after he was born.
While the surgeries themselves had no issues, Ezra contracted an infection in his lungs leading to complications. Fortunately, with the help of antibiotics, Ezra was able to kick the infection.
Over the next couple of weeks, Ezra continued to recover and on May 12th, he was moved from a breathing tube to a much less intrusive CPAP for his assisted breathing. While Ezra seemed to be recovering well, he relapsed later that week and needed an emergency surgery to fix a critical issue in his digestive tract. God was good, and on Ezra’s one-month “birthday,” doctors were able to fix the intestinal problem that threatened his life.
No more issues arose, and Ezra was able to be taken off of breathing support for the first time on May 28.
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Ezra will still need to stay in the NICU until doctors are confident about sending him home. Assuming there are no more complications, Ezra will make a full recovery, and according to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, babies born with CDH are expected to catch up in development to babies born without the disease by the time they are kindergarten age.
As they wait to finally take Ezra home, the Schaffers are celebrating every milestone, such as feeding Ezra from a bottle, something they couldn’t do until he was off of breathing support.
Movieguide® previously reported on baby Ezra:
Digital artist Michael Schaffer, who founded and runs the social media account ‘Memes for Jesus,’ recently asked friends, family and followers to pray for his son, Ezra Jude.
Today, doctors at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia began emergency surgery on Ezra after the baby spent his first week alive in the hospital.
“Happy one week of life on the outside, little man! I know it hasn’t been the most amazing experience yet, but things will get better. I’m so happy you are here and that I get to be your dad,” Shaffer posted on Instagram yesterday.
Schaffer provided updates via instagram stories to his nearly 35 thousand followers.
“Ezra’s surgery is tomorrow morning! Please pray for no complications and for the staff who will be operating on him. We are so thankful for Ezra’s amazing team at CHOP, and all of our family and friends who continue to pray and check in on us during this journey,” the story reads.
“Today, Ezra was moved from his oscillator ventilator to a conventional ventilator, and all his tests and numbers continue to look beautiful!” he added. “Our little guy is going to receive his healing through surgery, and we are so thankful that we live in a time when this procedure is available for Ezra. God is so good. Thank you Lord for the gifts, abilities, and knowledge you have given to the doctors and nurses taking care of our sweet boy.”
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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
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