Meet December's Legendairy Little, Maximus

Each month we donate a portion of our proceeds to a child with medical needs through the Legendairy Littles program. During the month of December 2024, we will be featuring Maximus.

At 6-months pregnant, Maximus’ Mom was walking when she was hit from behind by an electric bike. She flew to the ground, her shoes flew off, and she was injured alongside the bicyclist. Miraculously, Maximus was safe and unharmed during this scary accident.

Maximus was born at 35 weeks gestation in August 2024. He was strong, healthy, and he didn’t require a NICU stay! At one-week old, Mighty Max attended his first well-baby visit only to soon start projectile vomiting. His parents showed a picture of this to Max’s pediatrician and they were quickly sent to the Emergency Department. Once inside the emergency room, it was becoming clear that Max was very ill. The first full day at the hospital was spent testing and observing until the doctors finally discovered that Maximus had intestinal malrotation. Intestinal malrotation is where Max’s bowels weren’t aligned naturally as they should have been. By the time that this was discovered, Max wasn’t eating and was struggling to stay awake. Doctors rushed him to the NICU and planned for surgery to take place the next day. However, his parents received a call in the middle of the night that Maximus had become very ill, weak, and unresponsive. They were told to come to his side immediately.

During Mighty Max’s surgery, doctors quickly realized that his intestines were not twisted once or even twice, but they were twisted three times! Although surgery should have cured Max, he appeared to be getting worse after his surgery, gaining three pounds solely from fluid buildup. His swelling got to the point where his skin was bright red and blistering from being so tight. Doctors placed Maximus in reverse isolation due to an infection. Slowly, days began to pile on top of each other and doctors couldn’t figure out what was causing his health to rapidly decline. Doctors had no other choice but to have Max return to surgery. In this exploratory procedure, the surgeons found parts of Max’s bowels had died inside of him. His incision was left open to prepare for a third surgery to watch for any remaining dying bowels.

Max continued to fight unknown infections and high pain levels from his three surgeries. His parents stood beside him desperately waiting for Max to open his eyes for the first time in weeks. As soon as he started to wake on his own, he ripped his IV, central line, and belly sump out. Max would show NICU nurses that he was ready to lose the lines 5 times during his stay, which is where his nickname of Mighty Max came from.

Maximus absolutely loves to be home with his parents! Daddy is his best friend and they love their 7am walks every morning. Being held is a favorite, but it has to be upright so he can have a good eye on everything happening around him. Max enjoys being read scripture and being loved on by his church community.

If you would like to donate directly to Mighty Max’s family, you can do so through their GoFundMe. During the month of December, Legendairy Milk will be making a donation to Maximus' family to help with his medical expenses.