Texas
Jade Seastone
HUB Leader
My name is Jade Seastone and I am a full-time student and a mother of two beautiful girls Sara Grace and Harper Kennedy. My gastroschisis journey began unexpectedly when my daughter Harper was born June 22, 2015. I received one ultrasound during my pregnancy and was told everything was okay. After days of labor pains and contractions, she was born 5 weeks early via C-section.A couple hours after birth I was finally able to go down to the NICU and see her.The first time I saw her I stood in disbelief…there she laid with her small and large intestines inside a bag. She went in for her first surgery that day and received a Silo. Her second surgery was 5 days after birth closing the hole through her bellybutton. At a week old we were able to hold our sweet baby girl! Harper went back and forth with feedings having aspiration, finding the right formula(unable to breastfeed), learning how to suck, swallow breathe, etc. Ultimately she went home with a G-tube after a 58 day stay in the NICU. Harper’s father and I had no idea what gastroschisis was nor what kind of NICU stay it entailed because she was an undiagnosed case. We went on to find that wasn’t the norm and that parents can actually start learning and preparing during pregnancy. I remember her father and I feeling completely hopeless and scared; then we found Avery’s Angels and my world completely changed knowing there were other’s out there! I am very excited to be a part of this community offering support, kindness, and research for all gastroschisis families.