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FIRST
YEAR - While Dylan Harris' first year in this world was a difficult
one, his first birthday last December was a celebration for his
extended family, close friends and all the people who made the
first year of his life possible. Thirty-one weeks into her pregnancy,
Catherine Harris and her fiance, Ronnie Baker, were told their
baby had an underdeveloped jaw that was obstructing his airway.
After several conferences, doctors at Women & Infants Hospital
in Providence assembled a 27-person team and scheduled an "exit"
procedure, which is a more complicated than a Cesarean section.
Dylan's head was delivered and, after unsuccessful intubations,
he was given a tracheotomy to give him an airway so he could
breathe. Dylan was then completely delivered, weighing in at
about 41/2 pounds. Catherine wasn't able to hold her son for
a week as he recovered from the surgery. Dylan would be in the
hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for two months and endure
three surgeries before coming home in February to his family
at 15 Butler St. in Newport. Catherine and Ronnie were later
told their son has Nager syndrome, a rare disorder that may be
genetically derived. Major symptoms include underdevelopment
of the cheek and jaw areas. Dylan wears a bone conduction hearing
aid, and within the next year, he will undergo more surgery to
address the mobility of his thumbs, another condition of Nager
syndrome. Bone distraction will eventually repair Dylan's jaw
and hopefully bring his tongue forward, allowing him to learn
to speak when his tracheotomy tube eventually comes out. "It's
been a real challenge, but it's truly a milestone that Dylan
successfully made it to his first birthday after the rough start
he had," Catherine said. Copyright © 2006 - 2001. The Newport Daily News. All Rights Reserved.