Layton’s Story

Baby Layton playing with rubber duck

Ms. Jackson was pregnant with her second boy, baby Layton. She had a normal pregnancy with few ups and downs. After the fifth month Ms. Jackson started to feel different, “It felt like I had no relief from pain”. She was seen by doctors multiple times, but everybody kept telling her that everything was all right.

On August 19th 2014, just a few days away from her due date, Ms. Jackson went again to the emergency room for “an extreme pain and possible labor”. She was connected to the monitors to check Layton’s heart rate, and thankfully, everything was fine with him; however, her blood pressure was high, and the doctor advised her to be induced as soon as possible.  That evening, Ms. Jackson was admitted to the local hospital where she received a medication, Pitocin, for labor induction and the tough journey began. Everything was going according to plan, but Ms. Jackson “just had a bad feeling”, she felt that Layton was not moving much, but baby monitors didn’t show any signs.  Later that evening, she was finally comfortable enough to get some rest while her labor was progressing, but then the story took a sharp turn. Around 3 am she woke up thinking that her water broke, however, she discovered that it was blood and not “water”. She was immediately rushed to the operating room for a Cesarean Section. When Layton came out, he was “gray in color”, not moving or breathing. He had to receive seven rounds of Epinephrine medication to restart his heart along with multiple rounds of CPR.

“It took doctors seventeen minutes to get Layton back”.

Baby Layton in the hospital

Right away, Layton was placed on a breathing machine and transferred to UFHealth for an extensive treatment. This treatment included for baby Layton to be cooled 3 degrees below normal body temperature. Ms. Jackson was terrified but hopeful; she did not know what to expect. She could not see her son for the first three days of his life because Layton was an hour away while Ms. Jackson was recovering from her operation in another facility. When she finally was able to visit baby Layton, she was horrified at the amount of machines, wires, and monitors at Layton’s bedside. She did not know what to think, what to hope for; she only wished for Layton to fight and get better. 

Soon enough, a doctor walked up to the bedside and introduced himself as Dr. Weiss. “He was very polite and spoke very calmly, but when I looked at his eyes, all I could think of is that he is about to tell me worst news of my life…” Dr. Weiss went over the procedures and what to expect. Medical staff was at Layton’s bedside twenty-four-seven, monitoring, examining, and answering Ms. Jackson’s questions. Three days later, the rewarming stage began, and Layton’s body temperature was coming back to normal. Countless tears and prayers were answered. Layton started to wake up! On-by-one machines were taken away from his bedside. His tests were showing great progress in the right direction.

Layton's dad holding him

Twenty-six days later, Layton was discharged from the hospital. “I was excited and at the same time terrified!” Ms. Jackson explained. On August 20th, 2015, Layton turned one. He is a wonderful bundle of joy. Unfortunately, Layton’s father was not present at that tough time, but now they are reunited and started a journey of a father and son special bond. They love to go for rides together, listen to music, dance, and play. Layton is walking, clapping, learning to talk and achieving new milestones every day. “I would not change anything” added Ms. Jackson. Baby Layton is doing well.