As part of the Helping Hearts collective I met with Krystal, Andrew and their little boy Conner to provide them with some very special photos. Helping Hearts is an organization that pairs photographers with families of critically ill children to provide them with complimentary photos.
I was so touched by this families story, their positive attitude and hope. In Krstal's words:
"When I was 18 weeks pregnant I had an ultrasound and they told us that our baby had Trisomy 18 and we would have to terminate the pregnancy. We decided to have an amnio done and that came back clean. Next they told us that our baby was missing part of his brain, eventually I had a fetal MRI done which showed that his brain was normal but that my baby (boy) had a diaphragmatic hernia(a hole in his diaphragm). Because of this his intestines were growing in his chest and his lungs would be smaller. To fix this our son was intubated as soon as he was born (va cesarean) and put on a breathing machine. He had successful surgery when! he was 4 days old. We stayed with him in the hospital for 25 days and got out on Christmas day! 2 weeks later Conner was breathing really fast so we took him back to Children's hospital and after waiting for 4 hours we were told that he had a hole in his heart (VSD) and would need open heart surgery. So at 5 months old he had open heart surgery and aside from some fluid around his heart he was given a clean bill of health. With everything that we went through and everyone saying that we needed to terminate the pregnancy, I knew in my soul that my baby was going to be ok. I had a very positive attitude that continued after Conner was born. He recovered in record time according to the doctors and I believe that it is partly because of our positive thoughts and prayers."
Conner is strong, healthy and so loved - he is an incredibly blessed, not to mention adorable, little man. Thank you for sharing with us.
I was so touched by this families story, their positive attitude and hope. In Krstal's words:
"When I was 18 weeks pregnant I had an ultrasound and they told us that our baby had Trisomy 18 and we would have to terminate the pregnancy. We decided to have an amnio done and that came back clean. Next they told us that our baby was missing part of his brain, eventually I had a fetal MRI done which showed that his brain was normal but that my baby (boy) had a diaphragmatic hernia(a hole in his diaphragm). Because of this his intestines were growing in his chest and his lungs would be smaller. To fix this our son was intubated as soon as he was born (va cesarean) and put on a breathing machine. He had successful surgery when! he was 4 days old. We stayed with him in the hospital for 25 days and got out on Christmas day! 2 weeks later Conner was breathing really fast so we took him back to Children's hospital and after waiting for 4 hours we were told that he had a hole in his heart (VSD) and would need open heart surgery. So at 5 months old he had open heart surgery and aside from some fluid around his heart he was given a clean bill of health. With everything that we went through and everyone saying that we needed to terminate the pregnancy, I knew in my soul that my baby was going to be ok. I had a very positive attitude that continued after Conner was born. He recovered in record time according to the doctors and I believe that it is partly because of our positive thoughts and prayers."
Conner is strong, healthy and so loved - he is an incredibly blessed, not to mention adorable, little man. Thank you for sharing with us.
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