LUBBOCK, Texas – After receiving care at University Medical Center, 1-year-old Oziah Guartuche is in need of more specialized care at a short bowel syndrome specialist in Nebraska. Oziah’s parents set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for his medical expenses and the cost of travel from Lubbock to Nebraska.
Oziah is in need of a full gut transplant, said his mom, Dilalable Guerra. Oziah’s parents are struggling to stay afloat with medical bills and the cost of travel from Lubbock to Nebraska. Guerra said she recently lost her car due to her inability to work with Oziah’s constant need for care.
Oziah was born with two holes in his small intestine and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) , said Guerra. His conditions caused him to be unable to poop. He was sent home from UMC after a month in the NICU with an ostomy bag to allow him to poop, Guerra said.
Five months later in December, Oziah was sent back to UMC for a procedure to put his small intestine back in his stomach. His procedure was successful until Oziah began to code, his mom said. It was then discovered he caught rhinovirus, which is like a common cold.
Due to the virus that had infected his bloodline, they had to take his small intestines back out of his stomach. Guerra said he was on a ventilator for a week. Oziah’s small intestines were put in a bag outside of his stomach. Guerra said his intestines looked “completely dead,” through the bag.
Oziah received a surgery that cut off 109 centimeters leaving him with just 4 centimeters left of his small intestine, according to Guerra.
Oziah has been going back and forward between Lubbock and Nebraska. Guerra said that he is now on TPN which gives him nutrition to help him survive. His mom said he also has a G-tube that gives him his medicine.
At one year old, he isn’t able to weigh more than 21 pounds, according to Guerra.
Guerra said, “If he does not get proper care, it can be life threatening.”
If you would like to help, you can donate here.
