Rowan Toro made his grand entrance into this world three weeks early, in December 2015. By all accounts, Rowan was a perfect, quiet baby. Mom, Ariana Toro, was very familiar with infants since she and dad, Juan, had a little one at home. Big brother Fielder was just 20 months old when little brother Rowan was born. Times were anything but quiet in the Toro home, with little Fielder scurrying around and Ariana and Juan preparing to move into a new home, but they were excited to meet little Rowan.
The day after Rowan’s birth, Ariana noticed he wasn’t very interested in eating. “He had no interest in eating and the lactation consultant said he was just going to take his own time,” she said. But the next day the same thing happened, and Rowan was still not latching or interested in eating. Ariana’s suspicions grew since Rowan seemed less and less interested. When the nurse asked to take a look at little Rowan, she immediately knew something was wrong. “His stomach was so distended and large. His skin was so tight that it was shiny.” Doctors immediately took Rowan to the NICU and determined that they were not equipped to handle the care that Rowan needed. “That’s when they transferred us to UNC,” Ariana recalled.
Once transferred to UNC, Rowan was monitored for half a day and at three days old Rowan underwent lifesaving surgery. At that point, doctors had some suspicions about what was going on, but it wasn’t until a month later that doctors officially diagnosed Rowan with Hirshchprung’s Disease. Hirshchprung’s is a condition that affects the large intestine, or colon, and causes problems with passing stool. Hirshchprung’s usually presents at birth and is the result of missing nerve cells in the muscles of the baby’s colon. After his surgery, Rowan and his family spent a week in the UNC NICU, and were released on Christmas Day. Ariana recalls that day saying “The first night in our new home, all together with our older son, was on Christmas.”
Although no parent wants to spend their first few days with a newborn in the NICU, Ariana and her young family felt the love and support from everyone in charge of caring for her “brave little lion.” “That place became our second home,” she said. Not only were the doctors and nurses caring for Rowan, they were caring for Ariana and Juan as well. “Everyone was so incredible. They made sure we had a place to stay every night while we were there,” she said. Their stay in the NICU was short compared to most, but the impact the doctors, nurses and staff had on the Toro family was immense. Due to Rowan’s condition, he required several follow-up visits and an additional surgery to “put him back together” from his first procedure. Their return visits to the UNC NICU just reinforced what Ariana and Juan had already known, this was a special place full of exceptional people. “I remember when Rowan was going into his surgery, and his main nurse made us laugh. That’s how incredible these people are.” Through their tears and fear, something as simple as a laugh during a traumatic time can have such a profound impact.
During their time in the NICU, Ariana started calling Rowan her brave little lion. “Anytime I see a lion or anything that says brave, I have to have it because I think of him,” she said. When Rowan was around four or five months old, Ariana had an idea for a design that she wanted to do for Rowan that incorporated his new nickname. As co-owner of Stylish Living in downtown Apex, Ariana had a vendor that was able to take her design idea and bring it to life. Kelley from the Flyin’ Dandelion “saw my vision and just nailed it! He lived in that onesie she made him, and actually made him several so that I could keep rotating.” But Ariana didn’t want to stop there. “I thought, what if we could make this neutral for everyone, and we could give back to UNC because they have given us so much.” And that is what they did. They took the original design and tweaked it so it could be worn by any child, from newborn to size 6/7.
lthough the idea first came from her little lion’s physical struggle, Ariana wants people to know that this isn’t only for those that have a physical battle to overcome. “Every child has something to be brave for, whether it is their first day of school, or going to the doctor or dentist or having to fight every single day to survive,” she said. Ariana sells the onesies and t-shirts in her store in downtown Apex, and for each item purchased 100% of the proceeds and a matching onesie go directly to the NICU at UNC hospital. In addition, each onesie delivered comes with a personal note from the person who made it possible.
It was important for Ariana and her family to not only give back to the nurses and staff at the UNC NICU but also to let the tiniest fighters and their families know that they are not alone. “While we were there at Christmas time, not a place you want to spend the holidays, we received gifts from previous patients and I just remember crying and being blown away by the kindness and knowing that we’re not going through this alone. Somebody has been where we are and they made it out and they are sending us hope.”
Over the last year and a half, Ariana and her customers have donated close to 200 onesies for the patients at the UNC NICU, with another 127 to be delivered in the coming weeks. There are also those that want to make a straight donation to the Brave Little One cause, and those are welcome as well. “If you don’t have anyone that little to buy for and just want to donate, we then take those donations and purchase more onesies for the NICU.”
Although Rowan is doing very well, he still has some challenges ahead of him, this time in the form of Type I diabetes. From 8 months until 16 months, Rowan had been going great. “Once you get over the initial period with Hirshchprung’s, although it doesn’t go away, you can have a period of minimal problems.” But just when Ariana and her family thought they could take a sigh of relief, at 16 months old Rowan was diagnosed with Type I diabetes. Always hyper-sensitive to her son and his symptoms, Ariana brought her concerns to her pediatrician immediately and doctors were fortunately able to catch the diabetes at the very early stages of development.
No parent wants to think about their child having to struggle, but struggles are a part of growing up, whether physical, emotional, or just the challenges of everyday life. It is the knowledge that we aren’t alone in our struggles that can help to get us through. In his short life, Rowan has had to battle more than most adults, but through it all this brave little lion has shown that with the love and support of family and communities…
…it is possible to come out on the other end, braver and stronger than ever.
