HOLLYWOOD, FLA. (WSVN) - On the first birthday of baby Jay’ce, his family returned to the hospital he was born in to celebrate not only an anniversary, but the long life ahead of a survivor.
While Jay’ce is happy and healthy just in time for his birthday, the day of his birth wasn’t easy.
When Jay’ce was still in the womb, Memorial Healthcare System doctors noticed something unusual: a mass in Jay’ce’s neck was blocking his airflow.
He wouldn’t be able to breathe once he was born.
“For a doctor to tell you, you know, get prepared for the worst, I mean, that’s all we would hear,” said Jay’ce’s grandmother, Silvia Soriano. “It’s ‘get prepared for the worst.'”
Jay’ce’s mother, Juliana Soriano, was devastated.
“It was a tough battle from when I first got told my baby wasn’t gonna make it,” Juliana said. “Being 18, it being my first pregnancy. It hit me harder than I don’t know what.”
But doctors at Memorial Regional Hospital got to work.
“We performed a 3D ultrasound to really be able to interrogate and evaluate that very large six centimeter neck mass that was on the right side of his neck,” said Dr. Terri-Ann Bennett, Chief of Maternal Fetal Medicine.
Medical staff performed a rare partial cesarean section on Juliana only used for high-risk cases called an ex utero intrapartum treatment, or EXIT procedure.
“It’s a procedure where we partially deliver a baby, provide whatever treatment is needed, then carry on to the neonatal ICU after that,” said pediatric surgeon Dr. Moiz Mustafa.
Surgeons were able to reach Jay’ce’s airways while he was still connected through his umbilical cord, saving his life before he even knew it.
“Jay’ce is truly a miracle, it’s been a blessing,” said Silvia. “Juliana has all the support, all the resources to go to.”
One year from that day, everyone was back at the Memorial Regional Hospital as the family thanked the medical team who worked hard to save his life.
“Today, I’m just so blessed to be able to look at my baby, and he’s here, he’s strong, he fought everything,” Juliana said.
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