In a bright and colorful bedroom adorned with the music posters and instrument gear reflecting her passion, 16-year-old Kyla Rocha now thrives as a gifted electric violinist. But her journey began long before school bands and stage lights — it began with a diagnosis that shocked her parents and a team of specialists who rewrote her future.

Laura and Daniel Rocha learned at a routine 20-week ultrasound that their unborn daughter had gastroschisis, a congenital condition where the baby’s abdominal wall doesn’t fully close, and organs develop outside the body. Suddenly, what had been a joyful pregnancy became a high-risk medical journey.

Laura’s care was transferred from her local OB/GYN to the UT Physicians Maternal-Fetal Medicine Center and Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center. There, they met Dr. KuoJen Tsao, professor of Pediatric Surgery at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston and co-director of The Fetal Center at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital. “When we met Dr. Tsao, he was so kind and patient with us,” Laura remembers. “He answered every single question and assured us that the baby was going to be okay.”

Kyla arrived on June 16, 2009, at just 34 weeks, entering a delivery room prepared for complex care. Within minutes of her birth, she was taken into surgery, where Dr. Tsao and his team carefully placed her exposed intestines back into her abdomen, a lifesaving procedure offering her a chance at a healthy future. “With gastroschisis, our goal is to protect the exposed organs and gradually return them to the abdominal cavity without compromising blood flow or breathing,” Dr. Tsao explained. “In Kyla’s case, we were able to safely close her abdomen soon after birth and she recovered beautifully.”

After surgery, Kyla was taken to the hospital’s Level IV neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). During Kyla’s six-week NICU stay, Laura learned how to care for her tiny daughter as she healed with the help of skilled, compassionate nurses. “I was a new mom at 23, scared out of my mind,” Laura said. “The nurses made me feel like I could do this.”

On July 31, 2009, Kyla went home breathing on her own and steadily gaining strength.

Two years later, Kyla returned for a minor follow-up procedure to repair a small hernia at her incision site. Dr. Tsao and the team even “cleaned up her scar and make it look like a belly button,” Laura said, which was a small but meaningful milestone in Kyla’s healing.

Today, as a high school junior, Kyla pours her passion into music. Her band, When in May, showcases her electric violin prowess, which is a vivid testament to her resilience and creativity. She also participates in the Music is Medicine club at school, which recently performed at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, bringing Kyla back to where she was born. “Seeing her play the violin in the very foyer we walked through every day for weeks 16 years ago…wow! It was such a full-circle moment for me and Daniel,” Laura reflects.

For the Rochas, the impact of Kyla’s early care extends beyond medicine. “Now that ‘kid’ is a beautiful, intelligent, and talented young woman ready to take on the world,” Laura says. “And I truly believe Dr. Tsao made that possible.”

“Dr. Tsao’s bedside manner is amazing,” she adds. “He had such an impact on us, and even after all this time, we’ll never forget how he and the team at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital cared for Kyla and our family.”

Learn more about the pediatric surgery program at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital.

Kyla with her violin outside of Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital

Photo courtesy of Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital

Kyla with her violin outside of the Hospital