Pueblo West child recovering after intestinal failure
Four-year-old Alec Gonzales has had more experiences in his short life than most kids his age.
Alec was born about seven weeks premature and doctors quickly discovered that he had short bowel syndrome. Just three weeks after birth, he had seventy percent of his small intestine removed and a small portion of his large intestine.
Alec’s father, Joe, remembers visiting his twin sons Alec and Jake in the hospital.
“We’d go in there and we’d and hold Jakey and he’s what every parent hopes for, he’s healthy, growing baby and then you go into the other side and there’s Alec and he’s sick and not what every, when you say you’re going to have a child, not what every parent first thinks,” said Joe.
Four years later, Alec’s health is much better. His mother, Larissa, says Alec has a gastric feeding tube that may be removed in several months.
“I don’t want to say this is the last step in his recovery but this was the ultimate goal,” Larissa Gonzales.
Larissa said Alec can eat through his mouth but uses the tube about twice a day. She expects to find out in about four months if Alec will have the tube removed.
