Hannah was born full term. I had a healthy pregnancy and there was nothing alarming on any of my ultrasounds. After delivery the nurses in the nursery noticed that Hannah appeared uncomfortable. After a quick lookover of her anatomy they decided to call in a specialist who recommended that we be transferred to Riley. Riley diagnosed Hannah with imperforate anus, a rare condition that affects the formation and development of the midline organs. We spent a total of 4.5 months in Riley while they completed corrective surgeries and monitored her feeding. One common side effect of this disorder is feeding issues. Hannah aspirated when she would nurse, so she originally had a nasal-gastric feeding tube placed. That was replaced with a g-tube (a tube surgically placed directly into the tummy) after she became old enough to pull out the NG tube. A few months after she turned one we passed the swallow test and went back to have surgery to take out and close the g-tube opening. We spent a few months afterwards returning to Riley for OT to learn how to properly feed and also to get her up to speed physically after spending a significant amount of her early life in a hospital bed. We love Riley and truly appreciate all they did for our girl! She’s now a happy, healthy 12 year old! She enjoys singing, dancing, arts & crafts, performance art, and traveling.
