I gave birth naturally to a healthy baby girl. When it came time for her twin brother, his umbilical cord came first and the doctors had to proceed with an emergency caesarean. But the damage was already done. My son had lacked oxygen.

Doctors were bustling around my son, who was all blue, to help him breathe as his lungs were filled with blood. That’s when our doctor told us that he met all the criteria for “cooling.”

For what? “Cooling,” she told us, is when the baby’s body temperature is artificially lowered to prevent a massive rush of blood to his brain. This could help prevent irreparable neurological damage. It was imperative that he be admitted to the Children’s, where the innovative treatment is offered, within 6 hours to receive the treatment. Every minute counted.

I counted the hours until I could see my son again. That time came four days later. I’ll never forget that moment I stepped in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit…

I saw parents crying. I saw my baby, connected to a ventilator and three other machines. He was drugged on Fentanyl, a narcotic more potent than morphine. He was fed through his belly button. Every part of his body was hooked up to tubes: a catheter in his hand, mouth, nose, feet and genitals. He was refrigerated to 33.5 degrees Celsius. Refrigerated!

I cry every time I think back to that moment. And yet, it’s a happy story, because the follow-ups and MRI told us he was fine. He is now at the same developmental stage as his twin sister Julia. We’re convinced it’s thanks to the procedure.

We’re thankful we were able to benefit from therapeutic hypothermia treatment. The experience convinced me to become a donor, as it helped me understand to what extent we play a part in quality and innovation in the care the Children’s provides. Your donations help train professionals and advance research and expertise. That is what saved my son. Thank you for having been there for our family. I hope you’ll continue to be there for families like ours.

J's mom