As writen by Colton's mother:

A baby was born on June 17th 2005. The delivery was quite fast, everything was fine. It was a boy! He didn't get a name, though, not until a week later....

Colton Andrew Lewis was finally named after a week long struggle on ECMO at the Miami Children's Hospital in Miami, Florida. For some reason, still unknown to us, the baby that was born went into respiratory distress 10 hours after delivery. He was medivaced to Miami Children's Hospital where they tried all they could to treat him. It was too late, though. We received a call from the doctors telling us that Colton had but one last chance, a machine called ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation). ECMO is similar to a heart-lung bypass machine. Large cannulae were placed in the main arteries in Colton's neck. All the blood was passed through this machine which removes carbon dioxide and adds oxygen to his blood. The blood is then returned to Colton's body. Blood transfusions and thinners are also used in this process. The blood thinner, called Heparin, has a very dangerous side effect - Strokes. After 7 days of ECMO, Colton was taken off the machine. He was alive and seemed to be doing all right. Colton was transferred to the NICU for recovery. He was still intubated on 100% oxygen. After a few days Colton began to come around and wake up from the tranquilizers and drugs. He slowly came off the oxygen and was soon breathing on his own. He started a feeding tube. Everything seemed to be going great, and then we went to have an MRI done.

The MRI showed that Colton has suffered multiple strokes to his brain, the largest of which was on the left frontal part of his brain. The rest were scattered throughout his brain. They told us then that they couldn't tell us exactly how Colton would be, but he would have Cerebral Palsy. After absorbing that news, we continued on Colton's recovery. They did surgery again because he wouldn't eat on his own. A feeding tube (g-tube) was placed in his stomach and a fundoplication was done. A fundoplication is a procedure where they sew his stomach up to the upper part of his esophagus so he cannot reflux. This is a normal procedure to do when a g-tube is placed. Colton can't throw-up or burp because of this surgery to this day, but as he gets older that may change.

All together we spent two months in Miami Children's Hospital. Times got very difficult with me staying at the hospital with Colton and his father having to drive back and forth to Miami from Port St Lucie for work. We eventually got through it though and in August of 2005 Colton came home. It was pretty difficult adjusting at first. Colton was NPO (no foods by mouth) for a long time because they said he would aspirate. I always had a very strong urge to breastfeed though. Even while he was in the hospital for two months, like clockwork, every three hours I made my way to the pump room and pumped Colton breast milk for his feeding tube. When we got home, with the help of a close doctor and lactation consultant friend, Denise Punger, MD, we had Colton nursing! This was amazing to us! The doctors told us that Colton would not eat by mouth and he would never breastfeed. This was not the first time Colton has proved them wrong though.

Colton has done so many amazing things since getting out of the hospital. He is now 14 months old and he is eating table foods. He cannot use his right side, right hemiparesis. This includes his arm, hand, and leg. We have Physical therapy, Occupational therapy and Speech therapy every week for Colton and he is showing a lot of improvement. The neurologists told us that he would have seizures, his cognitive abilities are extremely delayed and he probably will not walk. The ENT says that Colton won't talk. I have declined any medications for Colton because I believe that being fully aware of his surroundings is extremely important for recovery. Seizure medications have a lot of side effects. Colton sees a Chiropractor a few times a week and he also wears magnets for therapy. These have all helped in their own little way.

One BIG way that Colton can be helped though is called Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. HBOT is a method of administering pure oxygen at greater than atmospheric pressure in order to improve brain function amongst other conditions. Introducing pure oxygen to the brain helps promote growth of new blood vessels, increase the body’s ability to fight infections, clears out toxins and metabolic waste products, and improve the rate of healing. Colton has areas of his brain that are dead from the strokes, but there are also many dormant areas. By pushing oxygen into these areas there is a chance that they can wake back up and greatly improve Colton's cognitive as well as physical abilities! We are hoping that Colton may walk one day and even talk maybe. HBOT is showing great improvements in many kids just like Colton. The only problem is insurance does not cover the costs, and they can be pretty expensive.

With your help, and the help of Bright Steps Forward, Colton will be able to have the procedures that he needs so badly. Since he is so young there are so many hopes for him and his still growing brain. I want to thank everyone in advance for reading this, donating, and taking a moment for the little boy who does have a name now and a great chance at life, Colton Andrew Lewis.

Thank you,

Kristy & Bo
Kierstin, Christopher, Nicole and of course, Colton