The story of Kip: our fighter baby
American mum Taylor Hindermann shares about the birth story of her son, Kip. During pregnancy the doctors found fluid in Kip’s abdomen which seemed to put his life in danger. Defying all odds, Kip was born at 34 weeks. This is Taylor’s story about her ‘miracle baby’.
At 18 weeks, my husband and I were given the grim news that our baby Kip’s abdomen was filled with fluid. The official diagnosis is fetal ascites. The amount of fluid could restrict lung and heart development. We were told he would more than likely die in utero and if born, this would result in multiple needed surgeries. He was already in meconium.
I was asked if I wanted to terminate my pregnancy. The doctor explained that Kip may have a poor quality of life. I was dumbfounded. All they saw was fluid and asked if I was ready to terminate. I said no. I was adamant that was not an option. I asked my husband his opinion and was told it was not his decision. I responded that this is his baby too. We discussed how we didn’t have to make a decision today but if his life was only going to be pain and suffering, was termination the best option? This weighed very heavy on me.
Powerless
I was angry and sad but knew the answer in my heart. I knew I couldn’t terminate. I understand this is a good option for some but it wasn’t for me. I finally said: “If God needs Kip now, he needs to do it himself. I won’t terminate the pregnancy.” I felt a small weight lift off my shoulders. We were being monitored weekly with an ultrasound. Genetic testing came back negative and I was again pushed for termination. It was put in my chart to not ask me about termination again. At 22 weeks, the doctor told me there was nothing else she would do and Kip had to make a choice. His choice was to fight and survive or get worse and die. There was a surgery that could be done to drain the fluid but she wouldn’t do it. She didn’t think he was a good candidate. I was pissed. There is a procedure that could help him, but you won’t do it? This was an unacceptable answer. I did have moments where I was looking up things like ‘how to pay for a baby’s funeral’. I lost my faith. Someone in my support group said: “It feels like you threw your child into a swimming pool with floaties they’ve never used before and they are struggling but you can’t go in there and get them. You feel so powerless and you know your child isn’t safe and they’re in your own body.” I felt like my body was failing me.
“They said that if we fought, if he fought – they would fight too”
Testing
I contacted the Children’s Hospital in St. Paul (Minnesota, USA) for our 23 week ultrasound to speak with a surgeon. He told us that Kip was not a good candidate for draining the fluid because he was so young. If the surgery put me into labour, he would not survive. The benefits had to outweigh the costs to do the surgery. The surgeon seemed confident this was cystic fibrosis and wanted testing completed to confirm it. They completed a fetal echocardiogram. The cardiologist advised Kip’s heart looked good but if the fluid continued to grow, it could tilt his heart upward restricting blood flow.
Going into labour
I also contacted Mayo Clinic here in the States for our 24 week ultrasound and was given the same response to surgery but they would fight to keep Kip alive. They gave us the same possible outcomes. Stillbirth or dying in utero chances were over 75% but they said that if we fought, if he fought – they would fight too. We transferred all care to Mayo Clinic. Cystic Fibrosis was negative. At 26 weeks, my cervix was shortening and I was dilating. I was set to go into labour at any time and received the first round of steroid shots. The odds of a very sick baby born before 30 weeks surviving was slim. We were told to prepare for a lengthy NICU stay while completing a fetal MRI.
At 29 weeks, I went into preterm labour and received the second round of steroid shots. At 30 weeks surprisingly, the fluid in his abdomen was gone and it was discovered he had an in-utero bowel perforation. He would need surgery to repair his bowels and needed to be strong enough to make it through surgery. He needed to have enough functioning bowels to sustain himself. At 34 weeks, I went into preterm labour again.
Precious minutes
The surgeons were available if emergency surgery was needed. I was told they would try and let me see him before they took him away. Would he survive the delivery? Was he strong enough? Was I ready to say goodbye if I had to? Kip was born on 3 August covered in meconium. I didn’t hear him cry but was told he was breathing on his own. When I was ready, they wheeled me over to see him. He had a tube down his mouth suctioning out meconium. My husband and I had a few precious minutes with him before he was transported to the NICU.
“After months of doom, we couldn’t believe it: he was fine.”
Healed
All the tubes and wiring were overwhelming. He had a suction tube in his mouth and IV nutrition tube in his belly button. He was doing much better expected. In the next few days, they would complete testing to find out where in his bowels he needed surgery. First was a lower GI study which came back normal. The surgeons were shocked. Next was the upper GI study which came back normal to the shock of everyone too. The decision was made to feed him. They told us to expect blockages. He started on breastmilk via a feeding tube and it went through. Scar tissue and calcification could be seen on his bowels and liver on the ultrasound but it appeared that the perforation had healed. This was unheard of. We were told that no surgery would be required. After months of doom, we couldn’t believe it. The baby, whose funeral they said we should plan, was fine. Surgery may be required in the future though as his intestines are on one side of his body.
Miracle baby
Kip was discharged after 16 days. He was put into a study for rare diseases to find out more information about him. There is no medical explanation to why he suffered this rare in-utero bowel perforation or how it sealed itself. Kip does still have a malformed abdomen and is missing the second layer of his abdomen wall. He was diagnosed with hypotonia and started doing speech, occupational, and physical therapy at 2 months old. In July 2023, he had surgery to help free up some of the scar tissue and calcification on his bowels and liver. To help start discussions about special need inclusion and sharing our differences, I wrote a children’s book called Kip’s Funny Little Feet in honor of our little fighter miracle baby, Kip.