CJ, born 2009

My husband, Jeff, and I were so excited for the birth of our first child - a boy, in July, 2009. Colin James was born on July 29 via c-section. The night before we thought we would go home, the nurses came into our room and told us that CJ was put in the NICU because he had turned blue. This was just the beginning ... after a few more days in the NICU, they determined CJ only had about half of his right lung and they sent us to a pulmonary specialist about 30 minutes away before we could even go home. After weeks of testing, it was determined CJ’s problem was actually with his heart and not his lungs. Finally, at around three months old, he was diagnosed with Scimitar Syndrome or PAPVR.

 

We waited for CJ to grow big and strong enough for surgery, and in October of 2010 at 15 months old, CJ had open-heart surgery at Children’s Hospital in Boston. While very scary for all of us, the surgery was a success, and we now have a healthy toddler running around our house. He’s not 100% "fixed," but the hard part is behind us.

 

It’s been quite a journey and he is our little miracle boy - that’s for sure. We treasure every day with him and thank God for all the doctors and nurses who have taken care of him. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for our CJ!

 

Story by CJ's mom, Abby - ILLINOIS