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Waymond’s Story of Survival

Waymond Beavers, Jr. was born on March 16, 2004 …. six-and-a-half weeks early. He weighed just three pounds, twelve ounces.  Size was the least of his problems. There was no way to prepare his parents, Erica and Waymond Sr. for the startling discovery that their baby was born with intestinal artresia. The baby had no rectal opening.

When he was only two days old, Waymond had surgery at Hurley to remove 21 centimeters of his small intestine. That was the first of many surgeries. Waymond spent 63 days in Hurley’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. He endured a total of nine surgeries in his first two years of life.

As a result of his intestinal artresia and a condition known as “short bowel syndrome” Waymond  couldn’t eat like a typical two year old. He received IV nutrition eight to ten hours a day….typically when he was sleeping. Waymond spent a total of six months in the hospital for everything from problems with gaining weight to fighting infections. Even simple activities like going to the grocery store with his Mom were out of the question for Waymond.

Today, Waymond is just like the other kids! He can eat what he wants and is living a happy, full life. The 8th grader was just honored for his grades, achieving a 3.5 or higher at his middle school. Great job Waymond!