This page is dedicated by Brock and Alexis Massaro to our new born son Brock Paul Massaro Jr. Brock was born on October 5th at 9:54 pm, two weeks past his September 21st due date. We figured he wanted to be an October baby, like his mom. On Sunday October 4th mom's water broke around 3pm. Alexis started to go into "labor" but never progressed past a 2cm dilation. Her contractions were weak, at best, and she was sent to St. Josephs Mercy Oakland Hospital to monitor the labor and her baby. After a frustrating day of what seemed to be pointless labor, at around 9:30pm Brock Jr.'s internal fetal monitors showed that his stats were crashing. Our family was rushed to the OR for an emergency C-Section with the NICU team standing close by. This was a very different scenario from the natural labor we were planning. The surgery was performed perfectly but after Brock Jr was delivered we noticed something was wrong because we didn't hear a single cry. The NICU team was ready for him and immediately started working to intubate him. We can remember every second of the 12 minutes it took to stabilize him...it felt like 12 years. Alexis remembers looking over at him and seeing his arm hanging off the table, lifeless. We were both praying with all of our hearts that Jr. was going to be ok. After only 10 hours of life, outside the womb, Junior met his daddy. When Brock first saw his son lying in an incubator fitted with a chest tube and fully intubated, so precious but just clinging to life; his heart filled with hope. The doctors explained that, due to meconium aspiration, Brock Jr. suffered from a pneumothorax (a collection of air inside the chest and around the lungs, caused from not being able to completely exhale the air he was taking in). This lead to a collapse of his right lung and Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension. After his first night, it was clear that the proper treatment necessary to help him get better was at a different hospital. The Panda team from Children's Hospital was called to transfer him. They came as a team of four and brought the much needed Nitric Oxide ventilator to transport him. To our astonishment his stats were instantly improved as soon as they hooked him up. Sadly, baby Brock left his mom to recover at St. Joe's and Brock Sr. left to be with his son. The first week at Children's hospital had its ups and downs and Baby Brock was determined to keep the wonderful nursing staff on their toes. The first obstacle that he faced was to heal his lungs from the meconium. Brocky started out on an oscillating ventilator with Nitric Oxide which took over 2 weeks to wean from. Gradually, day by day, his lungs improved and they were able to put him on a conventional ventilator. As with any baby in the NICU, this process had its ups and downs. We were only able to go at Brocky's pace. He was on several medications and boluses of fluid and vital elements while they watched his electrolytes. This caused him to gain over 6 lbs. of water weight which prevented him from breathing properly and opening his eyes. The whole time he was under heavy sedation and strong pain medication. By the end of our third week in the NICU, his lungs had healed enough to take out his chest tube. Next his umbilical arterial line was removed. The nurses inserted a PICC line so they could deliver his daily meds more efficiently. Miraculously, within days, we moved him from the conventional ventilator to a nasal cannula to breathing on his own. Slowly, after daily rounds, the doctors continued to wean him off of the blood pressure, pain medications and sedatives. He is so strong! After several days of two steps forward, one step back, our son was well enough to move from the critical NICU room to a stable "step-down" room. Brocky is expected to be staying at Children's hospital for over a month. We are asking for assistance to purchase a supplemental insurance plan, offered by the great state of MI and to help with the medical costs. The moment he was born the axis on our lives shifted. We want to be able to provide the world to him. Our faith as husband and wife was tested but we have come through this stronger and more trusting in God. Thank you all for your prayers, thoughts, and good wishes it means everything to our family. And thank you to the incredible staff at Detroit Children’s Hospital.
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