Daniel's birth was induced six weeks early, after doctors discovered that complications in Lisa's womb were impairing development of the boy's lungs, damaging his bladder, and had already virtually destroyed his kidneys "The first eight months of his life -- it was horrible," says Lisa. "Trying to figure out his medicines. He had hernias. Also, some reflux. He couldn't keep anything down. He wasn't gaining weight; he was throwing up his medicines." Mostly inactive, Daniel's muscles didn't develop. At 2 years of age, he could barely crawl. His turning point came with fundoplication -- a procedure in which doctors took a part of Daniel's stomach and wrapped it around his esophagus to create a valve. Then, they reshaped his remaining stomach, so that food could flow in more easily, while the valve kept his meals from coming back up his throat. "Now, he could keep food down. He started gaining weight, he changed color." |