Jack’s story

At our eighteen week ultrasound, our OBGYN in Huntsville noticed something wasn't right with Jack's spine but the picture wasn't clear enough. She referred us to a specialist in Huntsville as a precaution. We booked the appointment, but the high risk doctor wouldn't allow us to come since we had tested positive for COVID, even though I had no symptoms. We had to reschedule the appointment after already waiting for four weeks. The rescheduled appointment date was an additional four weeks of waiting. Our lifesaver of a friend and nurse helped us get an appointment with another doctor and his nurse in Birmingham the very next Tuesday.

The in utero surgery we were hoping to have was very time sensitive and time, at this point, was not a luxury we had on our side. This doctor gave us confirmation that our sweet Jack did in fact have "Myelomeningocele" or "Spina bifida”. Simply put, his spine didn't completely develop early on so it has an opening at the bottom of it where the nerve is exposed and has created a fluid sac. Dr. B said something that struck me. He said this was our "adventure". It may not be a fun adventure, and was definitely not one we had chosen, but this is OUR adventure.

And this adventure happened quickly. Almost overnight, our family had to move to Houston until the birth of our Jack. After living there for three months, he was born on November 17 and had surgery the next day to repair the defect on his spine. Not long after this surgery, we were discharged to come home but had to unexpectedly return to Houston for another repair surgery and other treatments for our Jack.

Throughout everything, we have focused on “seeing and showing” God. And one profound way we saw God is through the support of our community, especially from Corey and Brittany through their nonprofit, Always Endure. There was no question we wanted to get to Houston for treatment but without the support of Always Endure, it would have been so, so much harder. It was a blessing to be able to focus on our boys and not worry as much about monetary needs. We can never thank Always Endure enough for their support and blessing to our family!

– The Bartlett family