After undergoing surgery before birth and spending months in intensive care, Andres and Kaylee Rivas’ daughter, Josie, is now thriving.
LAGO VISTA, Texas — Andres Rivas proposed to his girlfriend, Kaylee, during a camping trip to Big Bend three years ago.
Last year, they got married and Kaylee Rivas became pregnant.
But a routine prenatal checkup brought troubling news. An anatomy scan of the fetus revealed a potentially severe problem.
“They couldn’t quite get a good measurement on her head,” Kaylee Rivas said. “They were concerned that Spina Bifida could cause it, and another test confirmed it.”
Spina Bifida happens when the fetus’s spine does not close completely during embryonic development. It can lead to loss of feeling, leg paralysis, and other problems for the child. And babies with severe spina bifida can develop hydrocephalus, where excessive fluid accumulation in the brain’s ventricles causes the head to swell.
Kaylee Rivas’ doctors at Texas Children’s Hospital Austin developed a plan to repair the baby’s spine while it was still gestating inside the mother.
“This procedure is definitely maternal-fetal surgery,” Dr. Cara Buskmiller said. “It’s surgery on both patients. The mom undergoes significant surgery to allow her uterus to be ready for us to put some port sites in it.”
Once surgeons expose the mother’s uterus, the focus shifts to the baby. A neurosurgeon covers the opening in the baby’s spinal cord. They close the defect in layers — first stitching the muscle, then the skin — to create a secure, watertight seal.
The operation went well, but their baby — whom they named Josie Elena — spent 109 days in Texas Children’s Hospital-Austin’s neonatal intensive care unit after she was born. Her mom and dad remained by her side on every one of those days.
On a recent follow up visit to TCH’s Austin hospital. Andres and Kaylee Rivas told their physician that Josie is already moving her legs — a positive sign. The swelling in her head is decreasing. Doctors said they will continue to monitor her health regularly in the years ahead.
It has been long ordeal for Josie and her family, but the riskiest part – the pre-natal surgery – is behind them.
“There have obviously been so many bad moments along the way and some really hard moments,” Andres Rivas said, reflecting on his daughter’ss condition. “But just like everything in life, it passes and the good times are finally here.”
“I am proud of her,” Kaylee Rivas said, looking at her baby. “I’m proud of Josie for everything she’s been through.”