Darnell and John Grainger tell the story of their toddler, Jonathan, and his unbelievable recovery.
“You name it, it was wrong with him,” says Darnell about her then- newborn. “Any major organ or function in his body, there was something wrong with it.”
Born seven weeks early, Jonathan required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a technique that provides cardiac and respiratory oxygen support. As one of only two hospitals in the state that offer ECMO, MCGHealth Children’s Medical Center treats 10 to 15 such patients each year.
“His internal organs weren’t fully developed and his heart was oversized,” recalls Darnell.
Jonathan’s doctors at the children’s hospital induced a coma and administered ECMO for eight days.
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