Doctors, nurses, even his parents, Dustin and Sierra Yoder, were certain that baby Bentley would die as soon as he was born. The nurses didn’t bother to clean the newborn, to weigh him, or to remove the fluid from his throat. Sierra and Dustin didn’t purchase baby supplies, only the small onesie he would be buried in.
Bentley was born with encephalocele, a fatal birth defect that caused his brain to protrude outside of a hole in his skull. There was just one thing: Bentley miraculously survived. Expected to only live a few hours, doctors were not optimistic; they told the couple that there wasn’t much they could do but make sure he was comfortable until he died. But the little fighter kept on going, month after month. Doctors insisted Bentley was not “compatible with life,” but Sierra had hope.
The couple discovered Dr. John Meara at Boston Children’s Hospital. Dr. Meara told them what other doctors couldn’t: Bentley had hope. Dr. Meara printed out a 3D model of Bentley’s brain. He came up with a plan to slice Bentley’s skull open like flower petals to create room for his brain. Then he would use two segmented pieces of his skull to create a “criss-cross” at the top of his head. At almost 7 months old, Bentley went through with the surgery, and he survived.
While Bentley may continue to experience developmental delays, one thing is for sure: Bentley and his parents will never give up.
“Nobody has any idea of what this kid is actually going to be able to do, because he’s so different,” Sierratold STAT News. “Even the fact that he’s meeting some of his milestones is a blessing, so we’re just taking it one day at a time.”
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