After delivering four children without any major complications, Lindsay Franczyk faced her first, and hopefully last, life-threatening scare – the diagnosis of hyperemesis and liver failure during her pregnancy with her fifth child, Joseph. Born on Aug. 18, 2007, Joseph still faces barriers today due to his rushed delivery to save his life.
To the right: Joseph Franczyk, after a complicated delivery onto this earth, is now a healthy 14-month old baby.
Hyperemesis is defined by severe and consistent nausea and vomiting during pregnancy that sometimes necessitates hospitalization. This diagnosis left Lindsay with a PICC (peripherally inserted central catheter) line - a type of central venous catheter. She was then on TPN, or total parenteral nutrition, virtually her entire pregnancy so she could feed both herself and her unborn child; her body rejected any type of food intake. After all this, she experienced elevated LFT levels in her liver, which led her to hospitalization at Magee for nearly one month and was also transferred to Presbyterian Hospital.
When her TPN treatment wasn’t working, she was given a G Tube to be fed through, which is inserted directly into the stomach. Lindsay’s body experienced severe abnormalities, which was very dangerous for her baby. Her liver neared failure and labor was induced to ensure her and her husband, Joshua’s, unborn son’s survival.
Joseph Franczyk was born 10 weeks prematurely. He weighed 4 lbs., 3 oz., but lost about one pound because he couldn’t eat and eventually began TPN himself for nutrients. Joseph was then whisked away to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and was intubated for respiratory distress. Over the next couple of weeks, he was weaned off the ventilator and was on TPN until he could tolerate tube feedings.
At the beginning of Oct. 2007, about two months later, Joseph graduated from the NICU and weighed a healthier 5 lbs., 12 oz. at discharge. Although he had to be on an apnea monitor at all times to ensure consistent breathing, he was finally able to go home with his parents and siblings.
During Lindsay’s stay at Magee-Womens Hospital and Presbyterian Hospital, she had a running list of doctor’s looking after her from obstetrics and gynecology, maternal fetal medicine, a doctor for the care of her liver, and a GI doctor who inserted and later removed her G Tube. And her husband never left her side when she became severely ill.
 To the left: Joseph makes a mess of birthday cake as his face becomes a colorful sight to see.
“Our time at Magee was a very trying time for our family, but I knew Joseph was receiving the best care possible,” states Lindsay. “I thank the Magee staff and doctors every day for my son.”
Joseph underwent surgery this past July 2008 for a non-cancerous cyst doctors think he developed from being intubated as a newborn. He hasn’t been able to speak much yet and is involved in physical therapy, developmental therapy, and occupational therapy. He has said the words “da da” and “ma”, but nothing more. Doctors think he hasn’t talked because his vocal chords didn’t close properly after being intubated.
Despite his developmental delays, Joseph is a healthy 14-month old. He enjoys the company of his four older siblings and his mother and father and is a very happy baby.
Lindsay would like to thank Dr. Woo, Dr. Krupsky, Dr. Noh, Dr. Chopra and the GI doctor, whose name escapes her. They all played a huge part in the survival story of Joseph.
It’s stories like these that force us to take a step back and realize how valuable the gift of life is. Pregnancy is hard enough on a woman’s body, but to face multiple complications that not only have the potential to harm you, but your unborn child, can be a very disparaging time in a parent’s life. Thankfully, this was a story of success, thanks to the doctors at Magee-Womens Hospital.
You can help support the lives of children like Joseph through donations to Magee’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit or to Maternal Fetal Medicine or anywhere you think your donation would be the most useful to save the lives of infants who face life threatening situations. If it wasn’t for our donors, Magee’s NICU wouldn’t be at the state-of-the-art status it is at today.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR GIVING: Neonatal Intensive Care
OTHER OPPORTUNITIES: Selecting a Fund
OUR COMMITMENT: Neonatology
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