We always enjoy getting the opportunity to sit down with one of our MGA Homecare families to learn about how well their kiddo is doing. We spoke with Erika Navarro, a mother of one of our patients, to ask her how her son, Levy, has been and the experience they’ve had while working with MGA Homecare.
Levy is a wonderful 10-month-old who loves tummy time, taking long naps, eating mango and smiling at every new face he meets. At 88 days old, Levy was diagnosed with biliary atresia, a rare disease that causes blockage in an infant’s bile ducts which can result in liver failure. A day later, he had his first surgery in an attempt to build a new bile duct, known as the Kasai procedure. Unfortunately for Levy and his family, the surgery didn’t work, and he had to be placed on the waiting list for a liver transplant in March of 2018.
“As time progressed, he was getting sicker and there wasn’t a lot that could be done other than wait and hope for good news,” said Erika. “We were just focused on making sure he was comfortable while we waited. Fortunately for us, it wasn’t too long after Levy was placed on the list that we were told he would be able to receive a partial liver donation from his godmother.”
Levy received his transplant on May 10th and after just two weeks of dialysis treatments in the hospital’s PICU, he and his family were able to go back home to continue his care. With Levy’s healthcare being more involved, Erika reached out to MGA Homecare to help with his home healthcare.
“It has been a pleasant experience working with MGA Homecare,” said Erika. “We were paired with Megan Merrick (RN, and Clinical Visits Lead for the Denver office) who would come by once every two weeks when Levy had his nasogastric (NG) tube, and once a week for lab tests when he had his broviac. His recovery has been going very well.”
Levy is thriving back at home. All of his liver and kidney numbers are where they should be, and he is down to only 6 medications from the 14 he was on when he first returned home. According to doctors, Levy caught up developmentally pretty quickly.
Through her clinical visits with Levy, Megan has been able to see just how well he’s been doing now that he’s back home.
“After Levy received his new liver, he quickly caught up to his growth curve,” shared Merrick, RN. “He is still working to meet all of his milestones, but if I know one thing about this family, and Levy especially, they don’t quit.”
“He can sit on his own now, ‘commando crawl,’ stand and roll around,” shared Erika. “He is a miracle and we’re so happy to have him home.”
We’re thrilled to hear Levy is doing well and getting stronger every day! Thank you to Erika for taking the time to share Levy’s story with us and our readers.
If you think you or someone you know would benefit from working with MGA Homecare, check out our blog on Becoming an MGA Family for more information or give your nearest MGA Homecare office a call.