Ghastly Birth Defect Blamed On Fast Food, Lake Elsinore Grandma Says

Ryan Alcaraz was born with his intestines splayed outside his body. The condition was due to an abdominal wall defect known as gastroschisis, and the infant’s short 10-month life was far from normal.

He never got a bottle or a bath, he couldn’t be held by his Wildomar-based parents until after his 2-month birthday, and yet through it all he rarely cried.

“He was a fighter,” said Ryan’s grandmother Sylvia Monaco, who lives in Lake Elsinore. “He would wake up smiling.”

Monaco believes Ryan’s defect and subsequent death could have been prevented had her granddaughter’s nutrition intake been better before and during pregnancy.

“She was on a steady diet of Taco Bell burritos,” said Monaco, an avid proponent of healthy eating. “These babies continue to die. It’s too many.”

Ryan Alcaraz: Aug. 8, 2008 - June 11, 2009

Jackie Hernandez was 16 years old when she found out she was pregnant with a son she would name Ryan. Hernandez was not overweight. In fact she was thin, but she admits almost never eating a sound meal prior to pregnancy.

Poor nutrition could be blamed on lack of education. Most would probably say the Wildomar resident didn't have an idyllic childhood. Her parents were divorced, she dropped out of school and moved from “situation to situation.”

When she became pregnant, Hernandez moved in with her boyfriend and she was hopeful. She is a self-described “girlie girl” who “wanted someone to love.”

But without parental guidance or adequate health care coverage, Hernandez was left to her own devices when it came to prenatal care.

“I’m not making excuses, but I really didn’t know,” the now 20-year-old said. “No one explained to me.”

Proper diet just wasn’t a priority. As a result, the teen survived on a steady diet of junk food washed down with Coca Cola.

“I hated water and I pretty much ate fast food,” Hernandez said, guesstimating that about 80 percent of her diet was McDonald’s, Taco Bell and the like. The only time she consumed home-cooked meals was when she and her boyfriend visited his family.

But at four-months pregnant, Hernandez got a wake-up call: Her baby was not normal. His intestines and colon were developing outside his body, a defect known as gastroschisis.

There was some hope the condition would correct itself, but any wishful thinking quickly faded as doctors gave her the grim prognosis.

“I made the decision that I was going to take care of my baby,” Hernandez said.

She began eating better and talking to her boyfriend about how they would cope with their baby’s health challenges.

According to Monaco, “Jackie became a very good mother.”

“She was very good with him,” Monaco explained of her granddaughter’s maternal instincts after Ryan was born.

Despite the challenges gastroschisis presented, Hernandez doted on her son, Monaco said. The teen administered his shots, gave him sponge baths, and dealt with his special tube feedings.

But by day three of Ryan’s life, doctors began removing dead, blackened intestines from the newborn’s body. At 1-week-old, he had no intestines left.

The infant underwent eight surgeries during his first 2 months, and he required special bandages to prevent infection.

“Jackie changed his dressings and was always at the hospital with him,” Monaco said, explaining that Ryan didn’t get to come home until he was 2 months old. “He was in and out of the hospital all his life.”

Ryan was an exceptionally sweet baby, Monaco said. He smiled when he awoke each morning, lit up when his favorite cartoons were on TV, and only screamed out when he had to undergo painful procedures. He didn’t cry for a bottle or food because he had experienced neither: food by mouth was out of the question.

Instead, Ryan just cooed.

Hernandez said her boyfriend Albert Alcaraz was a loving father and participated every step of the way. The young couple was hopeful their baby would survive, despite the odds. He was even on a waiting list for an intestine transplant.

“He needed to get his weight up before he could have the surgery,” Hernandez explained.

Doctors determined Ryan was a surgery candidate when he was 10 months old, but it was too late. He had contracted a virus that his body was too weak to fight.

Hernandez said in the end Ryan was ready to go – he had lost the fight inside. He had been admitted to Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA where a machine was breathing for him because his lungs were filled with fluid.

The young parents made the painful decision to take their baby off any life support. At the hospital, Alcaraz held his young son with Hernandez by his side.

“I watched him die in his arms. I saw his vitals go down – all the way to zero. We let him go,” Hernandez said.

Ryan died June 11, 2009. The family had just celebrated the baby’s 10-month birthday.

In Ryan’s Memory

Although Monaco is convinced Ryan’s defect may have been preventable, the research is ongoing.

“Women who carry babies with gastroschisis seem to eat differently,” explained Dr. Kenneth Lyons Jones, who works at UC San Diego’s Department of Pediatrics. Jones has conducted gastroschisis research and said there is some evidence that women who carry babies with the defect seem to have higher levels of Omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, particularly linoleic acid, in their systems. The acid is highly inflammatory and Jones said there may be a link between linoleic acid and gastroschisis.

Linoleic acid is actually good for humans. It's found in oils used for cooking as well as fish, but according to Jones’ research findings raised linoleic acid levels seem to be a common denominator in mothers who carry gastroschisis babies.

“Some inflammatory reaction could be a possible cause but it’s really hypothesis at this point,” he said.

Still, Jones applauds efforts that work to educate young mothers about the importance of proper nutrition.

“A western diet is not good for anyone,” Jones continued. “To make a pitch for a good diet during pregnancy is a slam dunk.”

And this is the reason Monaco is so compelled to increase awareness of proper nutrition among young women. She said she wants would-be mothers to understand that fast food is not nutritionally sound.

She is looking to start a foundation to increase awareness about good nutrition for young mothers.

“Babies shouldn’t die,” she said.

In the meantime, Hernandez and her boyfriend still grieve for their young son. They regularly visit his gravesite at Wildomar Cemetery.

Asked why she decided to tell her story now, Hernandez said she wants people to know what her son went through.

“It would kill us every day,” she said of Ryan’s short life. “He would smile and there was nothing we could do.

“I want to share his story with others,” she added. “If gastroschisis is preventable, I want to make sure this doesn’t happen to more babies.”

Anyone interested in working with Sylvia Monaco on nutrition awareness among young mothers can contact her at sylviamonaco@gmail.com.