Children's Care Fund Testimonial
Wyatt's Mother, Kaleigh
Wyatt was born at just shy of 38 weeks gestation in March of 2021. Two weeks prior to Wyatt’s birth, we were informed that he was measuring small for his gestation, measuring in the 6%.
Being a labor and delivery nurse here at UPMC Hamot, I knew that this meant that my son had the potential to be on the smaller side at birth and had the potential for other complications, but my husband TJ and I were shocked when he was born weighing only 4lbs 15oz, less than the 1%. He was tiny but mighty. We thankfully avoided any NICU time and went home 2 days later to his big sister. Wyatt was slowly gaining weight and inches, following his own curve on the growth chart, but always staying less than the 1% for weight and height. At around 7 months old we were referred to Gastroenterology in Pittsburgh, as Wyatt had not had any significant weight gain and seemed to be falling behind a bit developmentally at the time. We took the first available appointment which was in Wexford, PA a few weeks later, but we were thankfully able to transfer Wyatt’s care to Dr. King here in Erie at the Children’s Specialty Care Clinic (CSCC). After that initial visit, it was recommended that we take Wyatt to an Endocrinologist and Geneticist to see if we could figure out that despite increasing his calories by about 850 calories a day, he still just could not put on weight. We were able to get an appointment with Dr. Guarneri with Endocrinology and Dr Woerner with Medical Genetics here at the office at UPMC Hamot. We have been given the absolute best care at the CSCC, from the unit clerks, to the nurses and physicians in the office. They have become so close with our family and the love they have for Wyatt really shows. I never have to worry about him coming to an appointment and being nervous, or getting blood work done because they do such an incredible job (plus he gets a toy after his blood work so that helps ease his fears). Due to the genetic studies Wyatt has had done, we have learned that Wyatt has a change in his genetic makeup that may be the reason for his growth issues, but unfortunately there is not enough information right now about the change, or the disorder attached to it, to determine if this is the pathogenic cause of Wyatt’s symptoms. At now 27 months old, Wyatt is weighing in at 21 lbs, still less than the 1st percentile for height and weight (you know your child is small when they just draw an arrow facing downwards on his growth chart), wearing size 12-18 month clothes and size 3 diapers. But despite his small size, he is the happiest, wildest, and funniest 2 year old around. He does not let his height or weight determine anything except his clothing size. He does everything his big sister does and more. We will continue to search for answers for our boy and continue our journey with the incredible staff at the Children’s Specialty Care Clinic (I actually messaged one of his nurses to see if she would be working during our next appointment because he misses her). We are so grateful for the care we have received thus far on our journey and the great care I know we will continue to receive for years to come.
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