Mcguire Baby Uses Timberwolf Spirit to Fight Rare Congenital Condition

January 18 was an unforgettable day for chemistry teacher, Mrs. Mcguire, as she welcomed her baby, Christopher Lee Logan Mcguire, into the world at 7:58 p.m., weighing in at seven pounds, seven ounces.

Christopher was born four weeks early, which means he is a premature baby. Mcguire says, “We still have a long road to recovery, as Christopher, at the very least, needs surgery to fix his lungs, but we are prepared as a family to stand together to help and support him.” Mcquire explains that he is still in recovery but he is in stable and healthy condition. “He definitely has the fighting Timberwolf spirit," adds Mcquire.

Speaking about the baby's name, Mcquire explains, “The name actually has significant meaning for my family. Christopher means to walk with Christ and was chosen by my mother before she passed away in August. We didn't know how important that would be until 11 days after she passed, when we received his first diagnosis, which made us realize that maybe, in some way, the name was a protection." Mcquire went on to explain that they chose, "Lee because in my family, the women pass down the middle name, so it’s a family name," and added that her husband added in Logan because "he felt it was a strong warriors name and giving it to our son might give him a stronger spirit to fight what we knew he was facing.”

Mcguire explained the trials the family has gone through during Christopher’s first twenty weeks and why he needed the “protection” of the name her mother had picked out, “11 days after my mother passed, I went in for the 20 week anatomy scan, at which time it was determined that Christopher had masses in his right lung, in which we were told we would have to go to a specialist as they were unsure if the malformation would be compatible with life," adding that her son has a congenital defect called congenital pulmonary airway malformation (CPAMS).

Only one in 35,000 babies have CPAMS and, unfortunately for Christopher, doctors found a large mass in his right lung that consisted of malformed lung tissue and six cystic tumors, the largest being the one under his heart. The only cure for CPAMS is for the affected tissue to be removed, which will happen when Christopher is 2-3 months old.

“When I went into labor 4 weeks early, I was terrified! Our doctors had emphasized to us that his lungs may not be fully developed and that he might need to be taken immediately into surgery or the NICU," Mcquire says, but "Luckily, he was able to breathe well on his own right away and was able to stay with us.”

Although Mcguire is still on maternity leave, she says MVHS students will be seeing her soon, healthy, and without that baby bump we all got so familiar with!

Everyone at Mission Vista is excited to meet baby Christopher, but no one more than the students who went through a lot of the pregnancy with Mcguire as her students during the fall term. Congratulations Mrs. and Mr. Mcguire! All of the students know Christopher is in great hands!

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