Medway Air Ambulance transported a critically ill infant from New Orleans to Boston on Wednesday, September 20 to receive life-saving treatment.  Baby Hayze Hart was born five months ago with gastroschisis, a rare birth defect in which the intestines protrude outside the body through a hole in the abdominal wall near the belly button.  Hayze, who was born five weeks prematurely, has been a patient in the neonatal intensive care unit at Ochsner Baptist Hospital in New Orleans since his birth.

After undergoing four surgeries, doctors were concerned that the baby’s liver was starting to fail.  “His eyes were very yellow, green and that means the damage is starting and that can affect other organs and the brain,” said Catherine Consolini, the baby’s mother.  “They are going to start a treatment called Omegaven, and it won’t deposit any fatty deposits in his liver or do any damage.  The yellow color in his eyes and skin will go away,” Ms. Consolini continued.

“We were kind of at a dead-end road where he was,” commented Devin Hart, the child’s father.  There’s so much more they can do there.  I know he’s getting the help he needs.”

Hayze’s mother accompanied him on the 3-hour Medway Air Ambulance flight to Boston.  The New Orleans community rallied to raise more than $27,000 through a GoFundMe account set up for Hayze after their insurance company denied the request for transport.  Hayze will receive specialized treatment at Boston Children’s Hospital, one of the leading hospitals in the country for treatment of his condition.

Before boarding the flight in New Orleans, Hayze’s family expressed their gratitude to the community for the outpouring of support for their son.  The family also thanked the doctors and nurses at Ochsner Baptist Hospital, who they said treated Hayze like one of their own.