Mason Kekoa Macloves
On June 5, 2015, we welcomed our first child, Mason Kekoa. Born early at 33 weeks, Mason weighed just 4lbs 0.4 oz and was 16.14 inches long. Despite his tiny frame however, Mason was born perfectly healthy. In the months that followed, Mason quickly caught up to national growth comparisons of full-term babies by the time he turned 3 months old… an accomplishment that had his doctors in awe.
On Monday, January 25, 2016, Mason underwent a surgical procedure to fix a non-life threatening and common condition, where chances of complications were less than 3%. The surgery went fine and we were able to take Mason home that day. That night and the following day he was his normal self, playful, happy, and unaffected by the surgery. (Sepsis and Surgery)
On Wednesday we noticed a fever and his demeanor started to change. We called his surgeon’s office and spoke to his nurse who assured us that his fever was a common post-surgery symptom and that if we wanted to, we could bring him in the next day. Mason’s fever did not subside and he developed sores (which the surgeon/nurse called pustules) near his surgery site. At the doctor’s office on Thursday I expressed my worry of an infection, but was told once more that it was symptoms from surgery and was given a different prescription of antibiotics.
I left the doctor’s office that day worried and unsatisfied with the treatment and diagnosis of my son’s symptoms, but I told myself that 
perhaps I’m just worrying too much and that the doctors knew best. I kept a close eye on him as I was told, to see if any new symptoms occurred or if the current ones worsened.
Friday morning came and Mason’s fever was still steady at 102, did not seem interested in playing, slept more, ate less, had a decrease in his urine output, started breathing funny from time to time, and developed a new pustule on his cheek. I called and got an appointment with his doctor within the hour. After examination they sent me home saying my son’s breathing and airways seemed fine, to continue watching for more pustules, and to make sure his fever didn’t go any higher. At this point I questioned myself and wondered if the doctors thought I was crazy for continuing to bring him in when he was actually fine. This was one of those times where I had hoped I was wrong.
Saturday morning I woke to find my son with a pustule that had grown 10 times the size it was overnight. He seemed much more in a daze and attempts to soothe his crying were unsuccessful. My fiance and I rushed him to the ER. After a week of constant doctor contacts and no diagnosis, we finally learned about the severe infection that was taking place in our son’s little body.
Mason was admitted into the Pediatric ICU with sepsis. Still unable to soothe him, Mason was sedated. Little did we know, it would be the last time we would see him conscious. As one can imagine, that day was terrifying but the days to follow only got worse.
By Sunday morning Mason had gone into septic shock. Mason’s kidneys started failing. Without identification of the particular bacteria that was causing his illness, Mason was given a number of different antibiotics to treat the infection. There was nothing more to do but sit, wait and pray that he would start reacting to his treatments.
As we talked with one of the hospital staff workers Monday afternoon, Mason unexpectedly went into cardiac arrest. My fiance and I watched in horror as doctors took turns performing CPR. They were able to get his heart beating again but he was so weak that he could no longer do the necessary functions to stay alive on his own. He was immediately put on ECMO and we were told of the risks involved… but there were no oth
er options and we just wanted to do everything we could to save our son.
On Tuesday, Mason’s culture came back and identified pseudomonos aeruginosa as the culprit. Even with the correct antibiotics to treat the infection and Mason’s organs getting rest, it would soon prove to not be enough. Sometime during the night on Tuesday, Mason developed a massive bleed in his brain, a complication that sometimes occurs in infants on ECMO. The machine that was helping him was hurting him but without it, Mason could not survive.
On Wednesday, February 3, 2016, just nine days after his surgery and just a few days shy of turning eight months old, Mason passed away at 12:13pm… held tightly in our arms, surrounded by family, while listening to us sing his special song and his favorite music from his BeatBoy toy.
Devastation is not nearly enough of a word to describe what it is like to have to say goodbye to our newborn baby boy. Before that day, we have never heard of sepsis. It’s horrible to be haunted everyday with questions like: Why didn’t the doctors detect it? Should we have taken him to the ER sooner? Should we have been more reluctant to accept what the doctors were saying? Answers to these questions we will never know.
Mas
on Kekoa was full of life, happy, lovable, and always stole the hearts of those he met. He enjoyed playtime with us, watching an occasional
episode of his favorite Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, sucking on his fingers and anything else he could fit in his mouth, people watching, and smiling and laughing.
Every day without him is a painful reminder that we will never get a chance to see our baby boy grow into that beautiful human being he was destined to be. Although life can seem so empty without him, we live for him… to share the impact he had on our lives even with just seven months on earth. He is always in our hearts, forever missed, and never forgotten. We love you Mason Kekoa!
It is our hope that by sharing Mason’s story we can help someone identify sepsis and ultimately save their loved one.
Source: Almarie (Mason's Mother)
