Airnoy Boualoy
Airnoy Boualoy was born in Nan District Hospital with his intestines outside of his body. This condition is called gastroschisis, a hole in the abdominal (belly) wall beside the belly button that allows the baby's intestines to extend outside the body. Boualoy was in critical condition, and the clinical staff at Nan District Hospital could not provide the treatment he needed. They advised his mom to take her newborn son to LFHC.
On arrival, it became clear that Boualoy was in critical condition. He was rushed to LFHC’s neonatal unit, where his intestines were placed in a silo. This long plastic pouch prevents the newborn's intestines from becoming infected. Boualoy was given regular dressing changes and taken to the operating room every other day to have part of his intestine slowly placed back inside his young body. This is a long process, as too much too quickly can harm the baby. Boualoy was born prematurely and had very little strength. The NICU team also supported him with malnutrition as he didn’t have the strength to breastfeed.
This treatment continued for two weeks, and Boualoy was starting to show signs of improvement. However, against medical advice, Boualoy's young mom decided to take her son home. In Lao culture, it is seen as a bad omen for a baby to be born with gastroschisis, and his mom was under increasing pressure from spiritual leaders in her village to return home from traditional medicine. The LFHC outreach team tried to persuade Mom not to leave the hospital. They worried that when they left, it would be the last time they ever saw Boualoy.
Two weeks later, Boualoys mom walked back into LFHC. Her son was still fighting but severely malnourished. The team welcomed her and her son to the neonatal unit to resume treatment. After days of dressing changes, antibiotic treatment via NG, and malnutrition management, Boualoy began to improve. After a week in the neonatal unit, he was finally taken to surgery to close his stomach. The next day he was able to breastfeed with his mom without support.
After weeks of further treatment and constant monitoring to ensure he gained weight, Airnoy Boualoy was discharged from LFHC on May 6th. His mom thanked every member of the neonatal team with tears in her eyes.
LFHC has become the leading provider of gastroschisis care in all of Laos. Due to the prolonged nature of the treatment, it can be costly for families to pay for gastroschisis treatment in other hospitals in the country, whereas, in LFHC, it is entirely free. The neonatal and surgical teams have also become experts in gastroschisis treatment following years of ex-pat support and training.
Boualoy is now a happy and healthy, young boy. None of this would have been possible without the care her received at LFHC.
