Saving Little Hearts

A Grandparents Story

I would like to tell you a story about how our life was changed when a special little boy come into it.

On April 6, 2000 a special child was born, our grandson Dayton James.

Dayton changed our lives forever and threw us head first into a world we never dreamed we would enter.

This world would bring hopes and dreams, along with heartache and frustration. It was the world of Down syndrome, the world in which Dayton is to live his Life.

Dayton's world is not what we once dreamed it would be, but it is his world.

It is important to remember that Dayton is still a child first, and then he has Down syndrome second.

Dayton was not only born with Down syndrome but he had a VSD and ASD; a VSD is a large opening between the ventricles in which oxygenated and deoxygenated blood mix. Dayton also had pulmonary hypertension from this defect.

Dayton spent 2 weeks of his life in the NICU at Mercy South Hospital and was put on O2 and a heart monitor. You see Dayton stopped breathing the day after he was born he turned blue and was rushed away from us all in his mother’s room.

On April 19, 2000 the day came when Dayton was able to go home; a day before his daddy’s birthday, what a birthday gift. It was a gift we all got on that day. Dayton had to stay on his Oxygen at all times 24 hours a day 7 days a week. He was also on an apnea monitor to let us know when he was not breathing.

Dayton had to under go open heart surgery on July 12, 2000 to repair 2 large holes in his heart. Without the surgery Dayton would die. His Daddy gave the doctors the go ahead with his surgery. There were many prayers for this little boy and we had to put it in our heavenly Father’s hands. Dayton came through this with God’s love for him and great doctors care from Sanger clinic, being Dr Watts who performed the delicate surgery.

Dayton was in Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina from July 12, 2000 the day of surgery to that Monday July 17, 2000. His Grandpa and I got to walk down the halls of that hospital with the best gift of all ...our grandson with no oxygen, no monitors, with a small beating heart that no more would miss a beat or over flow pressure. That day for us was a day God had in his plans and we will never forget it.

Dayton brings us much joy and much love more then I can ever put into words. We know in our hearts that God above sent this angel to our family.

We are full time Grandparents, something I never dreamed of being but would not ever want it any other way now. We knew being grandparents was going to be special and we would see the baby as much as we could. We see him a lot because he is with us day after day, week after week and month after month, we enjoy him so very much. We never dreamed we would be so much in love with a little person as we are with Dayton. He teaches us something new each day.

Lisa