Frederick Schwenk II MD Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism Mayo Clinic 200 First St SW Rochester MN 55905. "You're afraid that you're going to kill your baby," A.J. Pollock and his wife Kate share their emotional story of the birth of their first child during the. And everyone's cheering, and obviously, I was crying. But one day in July, a doctor stopped by to check on Maddi and said to Kate flatly, "You've got to take this baby home. After 128 days, the Pollocks were at last able to bring her home in Phoenix. It was strange, because at 23 and five [days], it's very different for some reason than 24 weeks. Puberty. She was whisked away pretty quickly. He tested positive for the coronavirus roughly three months later and was forced to . At home. She's going to thrive when she gets there. July 17th, 2020. Kris Jenner and Corey Gamble walk in the Paddock before the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix at Circuit de Monaco on May 27 2018 in Monte-Carlo Monaco. They showed me where the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) was. Pollocks favorite baseball memory this season, however, happened from his couch. The Pollock family's emotional journey to bring their baby daughter home. Larry has a PhD. "The whole time I'm thinking like, 'What is a one-pound baby going to look like?'" But as Kate stood up from her hospital bed, her water broke. slept in a different part of the house. "She is very strong-willed. Babies who are born so prematurely, Dr. Abrams explained, have a number of issues that they're uniquely at risk for that don't happen for babies who are born full term. He had the option of sitting out the season; David Price, Ryan Zimmerman and others would choose that route. One hundred twenty-eight days. Down syndrome ( trisomy 21) is a genetic disorder that affects about one in 700 newborns. There's an ongoing risk for infection. And if we could get to 24 weeks, she would have about a 60 percent chance of making it, and they thought the odds were slightly better in that specific NICU.". reached a mutual understanding that they would concentrate on each hour, each day, and try not to think about the frightening unknowns. I kept having flashbacks of me playing at West Road Field on the RHAM team, said Pollock. A.j. As the doctors had predicted for the Pollocks, feeding Maddi would be a challenge, a last hurdle in her time in the neonatal intensive care unit. had come into contact were quarantined, and tested. "I think at that time," he recalled, "they were both just worried whether she was going to survive. Pollock was the Gatorade player of the year in Connecticut during his senior year and led RHAM to its first and only baseball state championship in 2004. 142 O ne of the toughest things about being the father of a girl with Down syndrome is for me to remember that she is not the representative of all people with an extra 21st chromosome and that she. Fresno Co. sheriff's captain investigated for sexual behavior comments, Man killed in single-car crash in Tulare County, CHP says, Madera County residents frustrated with lack of snow removal. played baseball. A premature arrival, by three months, amid a looming concern about COVID-19, which had been declared a global pandemic the week before Kate went into labor. said. "Looking back on the pictures," he said, "I'm looking at my little girl with a tube and three other wires down her throat. Kuusikko-Gauffin S Pollock-Wurman R Mattila ML et al. Of course, of course, whatever you need. To see him get up and down five times was fantastic Roberts said. In May 2020, Pollock and his wife welcomed their daughter Maddi Mae Pollock at only 24 weeks old, and she spent 128 days in the hospital after her birth. FLATT JD Pollock K Lee R Song Y et al. On the other side of the door, Kate sat on the floor of her home alone, and sobbed. Maddi was born 1.6 pounds and was the size of a little peanut. "He made sure that we know the facts and what's going on with Maddi, but he also had just an amazing bedside manner," A.J. Before that, he covered the Angels, the Kings and almost everything else the L.A. sports scene had to offer. "You're afraid that you're going to kill your baby," A.J. The avalanche of response moved him. While the bodies of teens with Down syndrome mature at the "expected" time, their development in other areas may lag behind. The initial aim was to hold off Maddi's birth for as long as possible. She's going to feel your love all the time and she's going to be great. ', "And you know there's going to be so many challenges that are going to come down the pipe, because you're just staring at her and she's so small.". said A.J. As they waited for the result, A.J. A.J. "She's going to be OK. "I never even really questioned it. It was the Mayo Clinic, calling with word that he had tested positive for COVID-19, and A.J. I don't know how you can look at that and be completely OK, like she's totally fine. As a player, you think its more, Youve got to get your mechanics, youve got to do this and that, said Pollock, who played only 86 games in 2019 because of an infection in his right elbow. Kate called A.J., and A.J. "She is very strong-willed. called Dodgers manager Dave Roberts about getting permission to take a day to bring Maddi home. tested positive were some of her lowest. Current playoff bracket, key games The nurses with whom A.J. It was a lot of emotion for a long time but it is nice when you feel like things are on . Because I couldn't.". pollock daughter down syndrome. In the middle of June, the air conditioning in the Pollocks' home had stopped working, the temperature in the home climbing to 85 degrees, and during a restless night, A.J. "Looking back on the pictures," he said, "I'm looking at my little girl with a tube and three other wires down her throat. said. Individuals with Down syndrome live in our community and they too are equally entitled to active lifestyle choices. You've got to bring her home. She's going to thrive when she gets there. You're going to be around her. "I think at that time," he recalled, "they were both just worried whether she was going to survive. A.J. Some days, one of the Pollocks would sit in the car in the hospital parking lot while the other was with Maddi, and then they would trade places. You're excited, you're happy, but you're also just like, 'What happened? And then you're like a zombie. She's going to feel your love all the time and she's going to be great. The next morning, June 19, Kate went to check on A.J. The fear of COVID-19 was omnipresent, and he went for a test. "When she came out, and they said, 'We have a heartbeat," Kate remembered. A.J. He went to take a turn with Maddi in the morning, but still feeling badly in the afternoon, he decided to hold off, unsure about why he felt so bad. The Pollocks walked through the front door to their home, past the sign placed by friends: WE LOVE YOU MADDI MAE. Just chaos.. Prior to or at conception, a pair of 21st chromosomes in either the sperm or the egg fails to separate. Pollock partially credits fatherhood for his hot start, which has occurred despite his two-week absence from training camp after testing positive for the coronavirus. A baby who has gone through so much already.". with their dog Ollie, just as his phone rang. Its constantly thinking about the next. '", To Dr. Matthew Abrams, neonatologist for the Pollocks, couples who go through the birth of a preemie cope with the shock and unexpectedness of coming to the hospital in the midst of a pregnancy and then suddenly having a delivery, with so many unknowns. One or the other, but not together. Their daughter was born three months. The longer she stayed inside of Kate, the better her chances for health. Ollie scratched at the door, trying to get in, as A.J. J Autism Dev Disord. "The neonatal doctor came in and she sat down with us and talked about Maddi's odds of making it," Kate recalled. ", Within the NICU, Maddi developed a reputation. Because I couldn't.". "The whole time I'm thinking like, 'What is a one-pound baby going to look like?'" Today, she is 4 pounds 9oz. went home. He has a daughter Katelyn Danchak 21 and step -children Paris 12 and Trey 10 both students at Abington Heights Middle School. texted friends: Pray for us. answered. Tuesdays celebration was made extra special by a reunion with Pollocks parents. Pollock wasnt sure he would get the chance to play baseball at all this season, let alone become a World Series champion. The difficult things we deal with are by far outweighed by joy. Current playoff bracket, key games She used to break out of her swaddle and extubate herself when she was one pound and six ounces.". But peoples safety and health has to be the most important thing.. We have a heartbeat, a declaration of hope amid all those fears. As they waited for the result, A.J. If you have recently received a Down syndrome diagnosis in your pregnancy or have welcomed a child with Down syndrome and have been directed to this blog heres what I. T he nurse gently lifted Michaela onto my partners bare chest a newborn embraced by her mother for the first time. At home. He told the Dodgers' chaplain, and the chaplain of his former team, the Diamondbacks, and the power of good will was mustered. "I think the season's going to happen," A.J. remembered, "Two seconds later, she's gone and I'm chasing her. A.J. Ollie scratched at the door, trying to get in, as A.J. Also, in 2002, about 1 out of every 1,000 children and teenagers living in the US had Down syndrome. "When she came out, and they said, 'We have a heartbeat," Kate remembered. I don't know how you can look at that and be completely OK, like she's totally fine. But one day in July, a doctor stopped by to check on Maddi and said to Kate flatly, "You've got to take this baby home. From the University of Washington 1989. "We would regularly joke that at some point we would find Maddi climbing from the ceiling. You're excited, you're happy, but you're also just like, 'What happened? Pollock fielded a ground ball in the last inning. Am J Ment Retard. We have a heartbeat, someone in the delivery room said loudly, but A.J. Shortly after his daughter Maddi was born in March, Pollock had his own battle with COVID-19. 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