Harry at his 1st birthday (Oct, 2003)

Harry at 4 Months (2 weeks before surgery)

Our son Harry was born October 31st 2002 after 37 weeks of a very normal and easy pregnancy. On October 8th my husband (John) and I were on our way to my doctor to check the baby because there was concern that he was not thriving in the womb and there was potential to induce. He had just gotten a new motorcycle and I was following him to drop it off for service. Going around a corner I watched as he hit an oncoming car head-on and landed on the roof of that vehicle. I jumped out and was sure he was dead but he was alive and knew all the pertinent questions. I held him on the roof of the vehicle until rescue personnel could arrive and they did so about 25 minutes later. We ended up lifeflighting him to Santa Fe (New Mexico) ICU. He had broken his femur and foot and had some very serious swelling in his neck causing a tracheostomy. He was going to be OK.

So to make a long story shorter I spent 4 weeks in the hospital with John and ended up being induced on our one year anniversary in the same hospital so that he could be there. Harry was born around 7:30 PM at 6.1 lbs. Harry needed some breathing help but seemed OK shortly thereafter. We all came home 3 days later with John in a wheelchair and waist-to-skull brace. We had a difficult time adjusting but seemed to do OK. We own 2 restaurants that have been run mostly by us (100 hour weeks). John's most serious injury was to the nerve root in his neck at C6 and resulted in paralysis of some of his right arm. He needed some heavy duty therapy and was concerned he couldn't help with the baby or at work.

Harry was great very quiet and happy, rarely crying. At his two and a half week checkup he was not putting on weight and our pediatrician heard a murmur and referred us to a cardiologist in Albuquerque. We went 2 weeks later and he found a moderate VSD and wanted to see him every month. Well, here we are at 4-1/2 months, Harry is gaining weight, but slowly and we have decided to go ahead with the surgery to close his 4-6mm VSD. I am very drained from months of basically being a single parent working 100 hour work week and having the strain of a highly medicated husband (John undergoes surgery on April 2 to hopefully regain some use of his arm and reduce the severe pain he has been in for the last few months). We are scared and nervous and have spent enough time in a hospital in the last 4 months. Harry will have his surgery on the 26th of March.

January 5, 2004 Update

Harry had his VSD repair March 25, 2003. To our (and the surgeons) surprise he also had a small PDA and ASD which all were repaired. He came through with flying colors and was released in less than 5 days. Shortly thereafter we went to Galveston for a much needed vacation and had a great time.

In May 2003, his Daddy decided to go to Lake Powell. He nearly drowned there by a fluke accident—we still don't know what happened. However, the paramedics there and expert staff at Flagstaff Medical were able to save him and he has virtually no residual effects.

We are recovering after our horrendous year and celebrated Harry's first birthday with a great big bash we we all enjoyed immensely. His PC says visits once a year for several more years but no one anticipates any problems. Thank you for this wonderful network, it really was a place to turn when there was nowhere else to go.