My boy’s been quarantined for months after he was born early – watching him kiss family through glass breaks my heart
BRAVE youngster Haven Smith was born 100 days early, quarantined in hospital for eight months, released for five months and is now back in quarantine - but is as happy as ever.
Little Haven weighed just 410 grammes, which is less than a pound, when he arrived on January 1 2019 and had to be ventilated at birth, his mum Mandi told Fabulous Digital.
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Single mum Mandi had been in labour for six days before Haven was born at 25 weeks following an emergency caesarean section at hospital in Mountain View, California.
Kept in hospital for eight months - until August last year - doctors originally gave Haven a "less than 10 percent chance of survival".
But the now one-year-old proved doctors wrong and is now doing amazingly well, although he suffers from hypertension (high blood pressure) and needs a kidney transplant.
However, because of coronavirus and his underlying health conditions he has been isolating indoors since February with neither mum nor son leaving the house.
And it's a real treat for Haven when he gets to see them - especially his beloved godfather, family friend Vic.
"It's heartbreaking seeing him like this," Mandi said, saying she hated that friends and family were only able to kiss him through glass.
"But catching covid-19 could be deadly for him.
"We don't leave. don't'My mom is 68 and I have asthma too. The only people we see are Haven’s nurses."
Mandi, an army veteran, told how she "weighed up pros and cons of staying indoors" before she decided not to leave in the middle of February.
It was before her state implemented a formal lockdown. "I decided it could help prevent him going to ER in this time if needed," she said.
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And this isn't even Haven's first quarantine.
"He spent his first eight months of life in the NICU at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital," explained Mandi. "But he is coping amazingly.
"He is a ball of energy like any other kiddo his age.
"Luckily he doesn’t care we are all inside. I feel for the parents who have children who are old enough to ask questions and don’t understand why they can’t see their friends or extended families."
Mandi was 25 weeks and six days when he was born although he was born the size of a 22 week baby due to intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) which meant he wasn't getting enough food and oxygen through my umbilical cord."
We don't leave. My mom is 68 and I have asthma too. The only people we see are Haven’s nurses.
Mandi Smith
As he grew bigger, Haven battled problems with his weight, length, kidneys and retinas with doctors warning Mandi that her little boy might never walk or talk. Mandi, a former soldier who fought in Afghanistan and had Haven when she was 41, told how before lockdown he was having therapy everyday to improve his strength.
"Though he still has some delays in development he is a little warrior like his mamma," she explained. "I’m an Army veteran who was deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 and 2011."
Haven also needs glasses as his retinas didn't develop properly, common with premature babies, and had an operation to fix this.
Mandi said: "Haven is larger than life. Nothing seems to stand in his way despite being on a feeding tube, oxygen and a pump for his pulmonary hypertension.
"I try to find gratitude in these hard times. It’s all perspective. Haven taught me that. No matter what we are going through. As long as we are in this together we can overcome."
She continued: "He is always smiling and flirting. He loves human contact and has never met a stranger because of all his exposure to different people early on.
"I was told over and over that he would have 80% chance of maybe not talking seen hearing or ever walking. He really is a reminder to keep hope alive
"And so many beautiful people around the world have supported us along the way and prayed for us. As an army veteran it’s nice to see kindness in the world instead of war."
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