MIAMI (WSVN) - A family was heartbroken after their baby was born with a host of medical challenges, but the child’s future is much brighter after a stranger provided the gift of life.
Two-year-old Noah Langlois is leaving Holtz Children’s Hospital on Thursday following a stay of a year and three months.
Noah was born premature and hardly weighed a pound. He spent the next 207 days in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit.
As he turned 1, his mother found a strange lump on his stomach.
It turned out to be a tumor that covered most of his liver. The tumor was so big, it was very difficult for the toddler to breathe and eat.
“He, unfortunately at that time, had a lot of odds stacked against him. For one thing, he had been a preemie child. He had significant lung problems,” said Dr. Juan Pablo Solano, pediatric physical therapist at Holtz Children’s Hospital.
The child received multiple rounds of chemotherapy, and doctors performed a minimally invasive procedure that treats liver cancer without affecting other parts of the body.
It had never been done on anyone his size or age before, but doctors sad the procedure was a success, as the tumor shrunk and made Noah eligible for a transplant.
Michelle Langlois, the boy’s mother, expressed her gratitude toward the medical team.
“Everybody here is a hero, and none of this would have been – he wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for everybody at this table, plus a thousand other people — doctors, nurses,” she said.
A donor was found in December of 2022. Noah’s parents said they are thankful to the transplant surgery team for cutting the liver in his size to fit his body.
“As you see, he’s a different person after a year. You would not believe it if you saw the original situation here,” said Dr. Akin Tekin, the surgeon who operated on the child.
Before he heads home, Noah will have to undergo physical, speech and occupational therapies, but based on what they’ve seen already with him, they are confident he will be released soon.
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