In February 2005 my husband and I found out we were going to have a baby boy with a congenital heart defect. The outcome was uncertain. We were asked to terminate. There was no way! We then got referred to Dr. Mooradian, the BEST cardiologist in
We made plans to go to the
June 1, 2005, Dylan Mark Hooper was born. He was a beautiful baby. We got to see him for only a second before he was whisked away to the NICU. They got him stable and Jim was able to see him. It was a few hours before I was able to go in. The next few nights I would sneak away in the middle of the night and go into his room. It was OUR time; I would sing to him and tell him how much I loved him. A few days later we were transferred to the PICU so they could become familiar with Dylan and we could become familiar with them. It didn’t take long for us to know we had made the right decision to go there. The staff was great. Two nurses, April and Michelle, made sure I got to hold Dylan before surgery, June 9, 2005. I remember holding him for hours staring at his beautiful face, his sweet hands and his perfect, scar-free chest. The fear I had as I handed him over for surgery is indescribable.
The hours we spent in the waiting room seemed like an eternity. The staff (Trudy) kept calling to give updates on how he was doing, and when they were finally finished. When we got to see Dylan he was very purple, swollen and his chest had been left open. We could see our tiny little baby’s heart beating. It was very scary and relieving at the same time, he had made it through the first surgery but we knew we still had a long road ahead of us. The staff was wonderful they kept us very informed about everything they were doing for him.
We met some amazing people while we were there but after six weeks we were definitely ready to go home. Everyone made sure we felt comfortable with all of his medicines (seven to be exact) and how to use his feeding tube. We cannot say enough about everyone at the University of Iowa Hospitals.
We enjoyed having Dylan home and dreaded bringing Dylan back in October. Each time I have to give Dylan up to the anesthesiologists it gets harder and harder. He had the second open heart surgery October 27, 2005 and did great. We were home in a week! After bringing him home for the second time we felt so blessed. We enjoy every moment we have with our boys and try not to take a single moment for granted.
In December we had a cardiologist appointment and we were all (to include our doctor) very impressed with how well he was doing, Yeah Dylan! Unfortunately, three days later he had a cardiac arrest, December 26, 2005. Jim (dad) and Bev (grandma) did CPR while we waited for the ambulance to arrive. By this time they had gotten him to take a few breaths but he was still very critical. I road in the ambulance and all I remember is them yelling in the back “Come on, baby boy, come on!!” All I could do was pray. Everything is a blur to me from that point on. I know we pulled in to the hospital and there were people running everywhere! They got him stable and took him to a room in the PICU at
A week after the arrest Dylan was transported back to
I naively went into this thinking everything would be fine, he looks so good, he is happy and playing. I was shocked to hear it did not look good and at that very moment they were not sure what they were going to do. The reality of possibly losing our baby was again overwhelming! That night I wrote this:
January 10, 2006 at 04:35 AM CST |
I sit here awake and look at Dylan sleeping (albeit doped up on Ativan and Morphine). He looks so beautiful and peaceful! I think how can such a little baby endure so much? |
Thankfully the doctors have not given up on him! He has overcome two open heart surgeries, cardiac arrest, and seizures in his right hand and paralyses in his left hand and a not so good cardiac catheterization. After six (seems to be his number) weeks in the hospital, they sent us home on oxygen (oxygen therapy) to try to dilate his pulmonary arteries, one of the underlying problems.
April 5, 2006 we took Dylan back to
Dylan has taught me SO much in his short life and we are excitingly preparing to celebrate his 1st birthday! “CELEBRATION OF LIFE” silent auction/dinner will be held June 1, 2006 to celebrate Dylan’s strength. All the proceeds will go to a non-profit organization, Help-A-Heart. This foundation was co-founded by myself,
June 1, 2006 will mark, not only, Dylan’s birthday but the Kick-off for our organization, Help-A-Heart. It was founded in honor of our boys, Dylan Hooper and Gabe Graber.
All our thanks and hope for the future,
The Hooper Family
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