Arkansas
Kelsey Cole
HUB Leader
For outreach, please contact [email protected]
My name is Kelsey and I’m a proud mom to my Gastroschisis warrior, Stash! At 21 years old, I found out I was pregnant with my first child. My boyfriend and I were told the day before we found out the gender of our son that he would have Gastroschisis. We had never heard of Gastroschisis before then and did some research online about it. My mother stumbled upon Avery’s Angels in our research and it gave me hope. Although, I never reached out to anyone from the foundation for support, it made me feel better that I wasn’t alone.
Stash was born at 35 weeks gestation via an emergency c-section. He was born at 8:13 pm on August 30, 2014 in Little Rock, Arkansas. He was transferred from the hospital I delivered at to Arkansas Children’s Hospital. His small intestine was exposed and he had closure surgery at 5 days old. He was in the NICU for 34 days. The day he was discharged will stay with me forever. I was so thrilled for him to come home!
Stash is now almost 8 months old and he is the happiest and toughest baby I’ve ever met! He wakes up every morning with a big smile on his face. He is a healthy baby and is growing before my eyes. He is my little blessing and has inspired me to raise awareness for Gastroschisis and offer support to families affected by it.