When Fatuma and Abiy Roba of Ethiopia welcomed their son, Fraul, into the world in September 2005, they were excited at the birth of their first child. A three-time winner of the Boston Marathon and the gold medalist in the women's marathon at the 1996 Summer Olympics, Fatuma and her husband looked forward to starting a new chapter in their lives as a family. Although Fraul appeared healthy at first, within minutes of his birth it was clear that something was seriously wrong.
Doctors diagnosed Fraul with pulmonary hypertension of a newborn, a condition that causes babies to experience problems with breathing and lung function soon after birth. Before a baby is born, oxygen is circulated throughout the body without using the lungs. nstead, the placenta supplies the baby with oxygen through the umbilical cord, and the pulmonary artery sends blood back into the heart. However, when a newborn has pulmonary hypertension, the bloodflow continues to bypass the lungs as it did before birth, leading to extreme oxygen deprivation. Without proper treatment, the condition often is fatal.
It was a coincidence that the Robas had chosen the MGH for their son's birth, but it also was a decision that saved Fraul's life. The MGH is one of only two hospitals in the Northeast that offers the therapy Fraul needed - extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). This technology, which was reintroduced at the MGH by Daniel Ryan, MD, of MGH Pediatric Surgical Services, uses an artificial lung to give the baby oxygen so that the body has time to repair the original problem - which can include an infection or a hernia - that caused the pulmonary hypertension. Newborns needing ECMO often are so fragile that they die while being transported to ECMO facilities from other hospitals, so Fraul was especially fortunate to be born at the MGH where doctors and nurses could give him the treatment he so desperately needed. Under the care of Peter Masiakos, MD, also of Pediatric Surgical Services, Fraul was brought to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), where he received ECMO therapy for seven days. After one month, he was healthy enough to head home to Ethiopia with his parents.
The Robas are extremely grateful for the excellent care Fraul received while at the MGH. "Dr. Masiakos is like a family member to us," says Abiy. "Not only him, but all the nurses there in the NICU. We have framed pictures of all of them in our home." This summer, the Roba family made a return visit to the MGH so doctors could check Fraul's progress. "Looking at Fraul now, you wouldn't guess that he was as sick as he was," says Masiakos. "He is meeting all of his developmental milestones and is keeping his parents very busy. His recovery was only possible through the exhaustive work of the NICU nurses, respiratory therapists and his neonatologist."
