Jadon was born on Feb. 15, 1998 weighing in at 9 lbs and 10.5 oz. We were very excited and could hardly wait to hold our new son in our arms! After Jadon’s birth, he had a rough time pinking up and didn’t cry much at all. However, after a few minutes, he started to get better and my husband and I were able to spend almost 40 min. with our newborn–not realizing that very soon our world would be turned upside down. I have called this our “golden hour” because we were able to spend it breastfeeding and getting to know our new son in the quiet early morning hours. When our nurse came in to take Jadon to the nursery for his first bath, we casually mentioned that his fingernails and toenails were really blue and wondered if that was normal. She looked and said he would be checked out thoroughly in the nursery. We were told it was probably nothing to worry about. While being washed in the nursery, Jadon turned blue and was struggling to breathe. After they got him stabilized by putting him under 100% oxygen, we were told the bad news that something was wrong with him and he might not make it. Our whole world came spiraling down! We were in total shock when, just a few hours later, Jadon was transported to the nearest children’s hospital. All we were told was that it might be his heart because he had a heart murmur.

Jadon’s first diagnosis was severe aortic stenosis with insufficient mitral valve (later, they would find a sub-aortic membrane). When he was just over 24 hours old, he had his first cardiac catheterization with a valvuloplasty on his aortic valve. I was still in the hospital an hour away waiting to be released while he had the surgery. It was the most horrible feeling in the world while I was making the trip up to the children’s hospital because I still had no idea whether or not Jadon survived. When I stepped off the elevator on the NICU floor, I knew Jadon had survived because my sisters greeted me with “Good news, Tina!”. They didn’t have to say anymore and I just flew into my husbands arms as we both burst into tears. Jadon was able to come home after 10 days in the hospital and on several medications.

Those first few months were filled with many things-the shock of having a child with congenital heart defects, and the uncertainty of everything were just a few. However, we learned to deal with it all by supporting each other, gathering information, getting strength from God and by focusing on Jadon and his older brother.

Jadon had another cardiac cath when 12 months old because he had started to lose weight and tired easily. This is when we found out that he also had a sub-aortic membrane. He had his first open-heart surgery when he was 13 months old to remove the sub- aortic membrane. The terrible thing about sub-aortic membranes is that they can grow back. Jadon did well after his first open-heart surgery and was like a new kid with more energy than ever!

He continued to do well until he was 2-1/2 years old and began to tire easily once again. He had another cardiac cath when 3 years old and shortly thereafter in June 2001 he had his second open- heart surgery. The surgeons had to remove the sub-aortic membrane that had grown back again and they performed the Ross/Konno operation because his aortic valve was very damaged. He had his damaged aortic valve taken out and replaced with his own pulmonary valve. In place of his pulmonary valve, he has a donor valve. We are forever grateful to the child's family that so graciously donated the valve so that our special little heart guy could live.

He is now doing very well-his activity level has gone up and he is again a happy little boy. There are more surgeries ahead for Jadon. He won’t be able to play organized sports like basketball when he gets older but he will be able to play sports like golf. He plays indoor golf now and loves it!

Jadon is a joy to all our lives and I have always said that his heart defects have been a blessing in disguise. Without them we would not know the joy of raising three boys. I am convinced that we would never have had our third son had it not been for Jadon’s heart defects. While we sometimes may be able to put his CHDs to the back of our minds (though not for long), they will always be a part of our lives and Jadon’s. He is very proud of his “badges of honor” on his chest and we are proud of being a special heart family.