Heart Story
When Harris was born the nurses immediately noticed a heart murmur. Several growth checks and anatomy scans had not indicated any issues with his heart, but the sound concerned the doctors enough to send him for an echocardiogram when he was 2 days old. The echocardiogram indicated severe aortic stenosis and some other potentially serious issues with his heart. He was then immediately transferred to MUSC. This began a very tumultuous first month of life that included open heart surgery at one week old. The doctors were able to reconstruct his aortic valve and Harris miraculously recovered from surgery very quickly. After a few weeks the stenosis grew more severe, and we had to return to MUSC to expand the valve again. That procedure had its complications, but it was successful. Now Harris is a happy and energetic little boy. In his one year of life so far, we have seen the Lord sustain his life over and over. We know he will always be impacted by his heart defect, but he is a determined and persevering child, and we have faith that the Lord will use this part of Harris’ story to bring God glory.
When we were in the midst of receiving a diagnosis, being transferred to Charleston, thinking about next steps very quickly, all after having just given birth, several people reached out to us encouraging us to get in touch with Emerson Rose Heart Foundation. They were such a huge source of encouragement to us. Even just being connected to people who had experienced what we were walking through brought so much peace.
When Harris was diagnosed the cardiologist made sure we understood that his condition was very severe, however, he said something I will never forget. He said that we should not give up all the hopes and dreams we had for our son. It was such a relief in that first day to be given permission to hope when our hearts were drawn toward fear.
We received a massive outpouring of love and care throughout Harris’ first month of life. We were being prayed for by strangers we would likely never meet from our hometown to countries overseas. We still meet people who were praying for us a year ago simply because a mutual friend shared our story. This beautiful picture of the global church was such a powerful blessing to our family. Additionally, we know wholeheartedly that the God who created our little boy has chosen to sustain his life up to this point. That confidence has given us a greater attitude of thanksgiving and a stronger reliance on the Almighty God, created of life. Harris is also an embryo adoption, which added its own set of unique details to the situation. But especially in light of that, we know the Lord has preserved Harris’ life for a beautiful purpose.
