Children's Miracle Network

Ministry Saint Joseph's Children's Hospital

JASEN KRACHT

Jasen Kracht

Six years ago, Curtis and Elizabeth Kracht, then living in Wausau, were excited when they learned that Elizabeth was pregnant with their first child, Jasen. Excitement soon turned into fear when, at only 23 ½ weeks and a birth weight of 1 pound and 7 ounces, they realized Jasen was going to make an early appearance.

“I didn’t expect anything to go wrong,” said Elizabeth. “One day I experienced back pain and assumed it was false labor. The next morning I started bleeding and was rushed to Wausau Hospital. Immediately, the Spirit helicopter airlifted me to Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Marshfield.”

This referral would allow their baby to receive the best possible care in the highest-level Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in central and northern Wisconsin, by specialists and sub-specialists skilled in caring for premature babies.

Jasen had a cranial hemorrhage into his brain and interstitial emphysema. In addition, he had a collapsed lung, bleeding in his lungs, and needed a high frequency ventilator to help him breathe.

“At 23 weeks gestation, the infant mortality rate is about 85 percent. National statistics show that of babies born like Jasen, only one third have a normal outcome,” said George Hoehn, MD, Marshfield Clinic Neonatologist on staff at Saint Joseph’s Children’s Hospital. “The fact that Jasen survived is really beating the odds.”

“His lungs were so bad we had to use a high frequency ventilator in a last effort to save him,” said Linda Sommerfeld, Jasen’s primary NICU nurse. “Due to the bleeding in his brain, there were concerns about long-term effects such as cerebral palsy or learning disabilities.”

During this time, Curt and Liz experienced some comfort by staying across the street at the Ronald McDonald House, allowing them to be as close to Jasen as possible. The staff at Saint Joseph’s Children’s Hospital and Children’s Miracle Network also helped them cope in more ways than they could have imagined.

“Saint Joseph’s Children’s Hospital is the best of both worlds – it’s as good as a big city hospital, but with a personal touch where people remember your name. It’s those little things that matter,” said Elizabeth. “Children’s Miracle Network funded the isolette that Jasen stayed in as well as calling cards for us to update our family.”

After three months, Jasen finally was taken off of the ventilator, and eventually was allowed to go home, weighing four pounds and nine ounces. But although he was stronger, Jasen’s battle was far from over.

“Jasen has been in physical therapy since he was six months old, had pneumonia twice and an appendectomy at age four. He also wears bilateral below-the-knee leg braces and was diagnosed with mild cerebral palsy,” said Elizabeth.

Despite this, Jasen has managed to beat the odds and today is a healthy, active boy who attends Washington Elementary School in Marshfield. He also enjoys playing with his sister, Tara.

“Jasen is ultimately thriving,” said Linda Sommerfeld, now a close friend of the family. “He is a very intelligent, wonderful child, and it’s due to the commitment of his parents who worked with him in and out of the Hospital. In fact you would never know what he went through by watching him participate in soccer, t-ball and Tae Kwon do!”

Patti Shafto-Carlson
Director of Development - Children's Services
cmn@ministryhealth.org