Lexi and Alex Bruce
Georgia, USA
Our NAIT Story
Hi. I’m Alexis Bruce and I’m sharing our NAIT story. We live in Georgia, USA. Merritt is our second little boy, our oldest child (2.5years old) was not affected by NAIT. Merritt was born on November, 3rd 2023 due December 17, 2023. Merritt was an overall healthy baby in the beginning of pregnancy. Around 20 weeks Merritt stopped gaining weight, but they chalked it up to the fact that I had Covid during pregnancy.
At 32 weeks we went back for a routine ultrasound to check on Merritt’s growth. At this ultrasound, a mass was spotted in Merritt’s between his brain and skull that was measuring 3x2CM. They immediately began running testing to figure out what it was. We had an MRI the following day where we found out the mass had doubled in size to 6x4CM. We were put into the hospital the next day for continuous fetal monitoring. Merritt started having complications in utero and was dropping his heart rate, I was going into preterm labor, and my own body was having complications. On November 3rd, they did our ultrasound that morning after a week in the hospital where they discovered my amniotic fluid had disappeared completely. We were rushed for emergency c-section that day. Merritt was born with severe bruising. He weighed 4lbs 10oz and was 17 1/2inches long. His platelets were counted at 7 and he required blood/platelet transfusions before they could even transfer him to Children’s hospital of Atlanta.
When Merritt was transferred they started talking that Merritt had NAIT. At a week old, after countless transfusions of blood and platelets Merritt had brain surgery to remove the hemorrhage. They were successful in removing 95% of the hemorrhage and told us his brain had shifted 9mm in the opposite direction from pressure of the hemorrhage. We were told Merritt would possibly have lifelong complications from the severity of the hemorrhage and the impact on his brain. We are currently seeing specialist in all areas to monitor Merritt and his development. Merritt has been diagnosed with cortical blindness, possibly cerebral palsy, failure to thrive, low muscle mass, dairy/soy allergy, severe eczema, & extremely high risk for seizures. Merritt is overall a happy baby and is such a mamas boy. Prior to our diagnosis of NAIT, we had never even heard of it. We do our best in spreading awareness now and sharing our story with others. Our little miracle has beat all odds stacked against him and continues to fight every single day. Merritt is so loved by his daddy(Alex), his big brother(Myles), and his pets.
Merritt and Myles
