- When Harata’s newborn Archie was diagnosed with the rare condition, imperforate anus, she was terrified.
- The condition meant little Archie was born without a functioning bum.
- Now five years old, Archie faces life with his colostomy bag and a smile!
Here Harata Gemmell, 35, from Macraes, NZ, tells her story in her own words.
It’s a boy,’ my partner, Cody, then 25, told me as our newest addition arrived into the world via C-section.
It was December 2020 and as our son, who we named Archie, was placed on my chest, my heart filled with love. ‘Mama’s got you,’ I cooed.
We couldn’t wait to introduce him to our three other kids, Mariah, then nine, Chloe, five, and Levi, three, who were staying with friends.
While I was stitched up, a paediatrician checked Archie over.
‘He’s perfect,’ the doctor assured me, placing him in the crib at my bedside.
Weighing 2.7 kilos, Archie didn’t have a big appetite and after his first feed, he slept through the night without stirring.
Doctors put his lack of appetite down to an uncomfortable tongue tie.
I trusted the doctors, but when I discovered stool in the front of Archie’s nappy the next morning, I was concerned.
Having changed thousands of nappies in my time, I’d never seen anything like it.
Alerting nurses, they sent a doctor in, who examined Archie’s buttocks.
But nothing could’ve prepared me for what came next.
‘Archie needs emergency surgery,’ the doctor said, explaining our bub had a life-threatening condition called imperforate anus – a congenital birth defect meaning his anus was missing.
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He also had a urethral fistula, which meant instead of stool moving through the natural passage, it was being redirected out of his penis.
I was heartbroken.
‘My baby has been suffering,’ I cried.
A few hours later, our boy was airlifted to Christchurch Hospital where a team of doctors were waiting to rush him into surgery.
With me still recovering from my caesarean, Cody and I drove over five hours to meet him there.
By the time we arrived at 4.30pm, our brave boy was already in theatre, where surgeons were putting a colostomy in place.
This meant his large intestine was diverted through an opening in his tummy, called a stoma, and a special bag was attached on the outside to collect his waste.
Thankfully, the eight-hour op was a success.
Seeing my boy in recovery, his tiny body snaked in wires, I wept.
‘You’re safe now,’ I said, kissing him.
After nine days in hospital, Archie was finally allowed home, where the older kids doted on him.
‘Archie was really sick, so doctors gave him this bag to save him,’ I explained to them.
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When he was around eight weeks old, I noticed Archie’s intestine was protruding through his stoma.
Covid lockdowns meant we had to wait for exemptions to travel from our home in Macraes to Christchurch for Archie’s essential surgery.
Finally, four weeks later, Archie underwent another op to repair the prolapse and create a rectum.
To help widen the new opening, we used a dilating tool at home to prepare his body to be able to pass waste without pain.
Then in March 2022, when he was 15 months old, Archie was back in surgery to close his stoma and reroute his intestines to his new bum.
Despite the op being a success, he became incredibly constipated as his body struggled with the changes, causing severe bloating in his tummy.
Archie never had a full nappy, instead he only eliminated a little bit of waste at a time.
Constant straining caused his rectum to become prolapsed, which required another surgery to repair.
Despite all he had been through, Archie met all his milestones on time.
Still, he struggled to go to the toilet without pain, resulting in two more prolapses.
‘Mama, help me!’ he said, begging for his bag back.
By the third time, I’d had enough of seeing my boy so distressed.
‘This isn’t working,’ I told doctors, desperate for someone to help.
So in September 2023, when he was almost three, all the changes he’d undergone were reversed, and the colostomy bag reinstalled.
While he was under the knife, doctors discovered Archie had developed a diverticulum – a small pouch that forms in the colon wall caused by high pressure on the bowel – as well as two urinary stones.
Doctors believe it grew from the scar tissue following fistula surgery.
No wonder my boy was in so much pain, I thought.
With no immediate relief or treatment available, I placed Archie in a warm shower to soothe him while he relieved himself.
Five months later, he had the pouch repaired and stones removed, providing him immediate relief.
Two years on, Archie, now five, is our ray of sunshine.
When he’s not watching Paw Patrol, or tinkering with Cody in the garage, he’s riding his bike around the local park with his siblings, Mariah, now 14, Chloe, 10, and Levi, eight.
Instead of shying away from his difference, Archie proudly shows off his colostomy pouch to everyone he meets.
‘I’m Archie and I have a bag where I poo,’ he says, lifting his shirt to educate other kids at the playground.
Following advice from doctors, we’re waiting until our boy is old enough to decide whether he wants to keep the bag or have it reversed and use his bum as intended.
For now, he’s happy and free of pain – and that’s all we could ask for.
He’s our little fighter!
Visit givealittle.co.nz/cause/help-wee-archie-jenkins
