Christopher Redford is an active little guy. He enjoys being outdoors, going down slides and playing in sandboxes.
For his parents, Sarah and James Redford, they can now look forward to his future. But that wasn’t always the case. During Sarah’s pregnancy, a 20-week ultrasound revealed that Christopher would have a cleft lip. Sarah was later informed that her pregnancy was high risk.
This is when Sarah was referred by her physician to Dr. Kazumasa Hashimoto. He is an obstetrics and gynecology physician that specializes in maternal and fetal medicine at Marshfield Medical Center in Marshfield. As a part of her care, Dr. Hashimoto offered Sarah gas cards to help with the cost of traveling to Marshfield from Chippewa Falls. Donors to Marshfield Clinic Health System Foundation sponsor this program.
Sarah was hospitalized at 34 weeks due to severe preeclampsia and Christopher was born six weeks early. He ended up spending 12 nights and 13 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Marshfield Children’s Hospital. A team of board-certified neonatologists, specialized neonatal nurses, respiratory therapists and dietitians were all focused on providing the best care possible for Christopher.
Nearly five months after he was born, Christopher had surgery to repair his cleft lip at Marshfield Children’s Hospital. The procedure went smoothly and Sarah was happy that everyone answered all her questions before and after the surgery. The Cleft Lip and Palate Clinic allowed Christopher to be seen by many doctors in the same day to make all the appointments easier on the family.
Dr. Brad Morrow, pediatric plastic and reconstructive surgeon, continues to provide follow-up care for Christopher. When Christopher bumped his lip once causing it to swell, Dr. Morrow arranged space in his schedule to see Christopher - putting Sarah’s mind at ease.
During every step of the way, caring nurses and child life specialists were there to support Christopher and his family. Sarah especially appreciated the care they provided after his cleft lip surgery. To help, the team brought a portable tub into the room to ease him from coming off anesthesia.
Christopher also needed tubes put in his ears. Ear, nose and throat specialist Dr. Joshua Smith performed that surgery in Marshfield. Sarah was surprised when Dr. Smith called her personally to answer a question.
As Christopher’s parents look toward his future, they have chosen Dr. Bushra Javaid at Marshfield Medical Center-Eau Claire to be his pediatrician. For them, it was important to choose a pediatrician that could provide quality primary care seamlessly with Christopher’s specialists.
Christopher receives his care through Marshfield Children’s to keep him healthy and so he can keep flashing his smile.
For the love of kids.
