Constant effort to keep Jade healthy

For the family of little Jade Moffatt, life revolves around frequent trips to and stays in hospital.

Jade, who turns 3 in March, was born with his bowel outside his body.

The condition, called gastroschisis, affects one in 5000 babies.

He was rushed into surgery an hour after birth and that operation was the first of many.

The most recent was five-and-a-half-hour operation in July.

Since the Otago Daily Times last spoke with Jade's family in December 2007, his mother, Brenda Wright, estimated he had been in hospital "probably 80% of the time".

Jade is unable to eat normally and is fed milk and nutrients through a stomach tube.

He also had a "real phobia" about food which his parents were trying to overcome.

He is mostly in hospital as the result of infections requiring two-week stays for antibiotics.

When not in hospital, Jade still has to travel to Dunedin Hospital once a week to have his needle changed and to be reviewed.

He also has weekly blood tests.

A motorcycle poker run is being held in North Otago on December 12 to raise money for the family's medical costs.

Participants will meet at the Galleon complex at 11.30am for registration and to receive the first card in a hand of poker.

They will then ride the back-roads of North Otago, receiving poker cards at various stops.

There was a possibility of taking Jade to the United States for a bowel and liver transplant - "Then he'd just be a normal kid" - but that could require staying in the US for as long as three years and carried the risk of possible organ rejection.

"It's like a back-up [plan] if we've tried everything here.

"That's the last option for us to do," Miss Wright said.

In the meantime, Miss Wright said she and her partner, Andrew Moffatt, would "just battle away until we come to a standstill".