Brady came into this world in the typical way, but we soon learned that Brady was anything but typical. When Brady was 72 hours old, the nurses noticed that his feet were beginning to turn purple. He was immediately intubated and transferred from the hospital where he was born to a hospital 30 miles away that had a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Even as he was transferred the doctors told us that the outlook for Brady was grim and that they did not know what was going on.

When Brady got to the Ft. Wayne hospital, a neonatologist quickly identified Brady as missing his aortic arch and wanted him transferred immediately to a children’s hospital with pediatric cardiologists. Due to blizzard-like conditions, a helicopter was not an option, nor was going south to Indianapolis. It was decided that Brady would be transported 2 hours east to Medical College of Ohio, at Toledo. Along with a snowplow, Brady made the slow journey, which ended up taking 5 hours. Two days later, with renal failure and cardiac failure imminent, Brady underwent the first of what would be five open-heart surgeries.

Today, Brady is a healthy and happy 9 year old. Girls just think he is so cute, much to our dismay! Brady is also very active in TaeKwonDo and will soon achieve the coveted rank of Black Belt. He is also very active in being a local voice to the need for awareness of Congenital Heart Disease. He is a true fighter and lover of life and is an inspiration to every life that he touches

March, 2004 Update

We are preparing for Brady's 6th open heart surgery in which the aortic arch will be replaced. We are told that this surgery will be Brady's "most complicated yet".

Brady recently turned 12 and enjoys life every day. He is involved in Boy Scouts and loves to play outside with his friends.