Gehrig's Story | Kate's Story | Colman's Story

Our son Gehrig was born on April 24, 2004. We knew from an ultrasound in-utero, that he would be born with some medical problems. None of these, at this point, were related to his heart. The day after he was born an ultrasound was done because heart murmurs could be detected. It was then doctors discovered Gehrig had an Atrial Septal Defect (ASD). There was a hole in the wall of the upper chambers that separates the left side of the heart from the right side.

Dr. James Rogers of the Children's Heart Network came to talk to us about Gehrig's condition. He took his time and answered all of our questions. He even drew a detailed picture to help us understand. We were told that while some conditions like this healed themselves, Gehrig would be needing surgery.

Throughout the summer Gehrig was closely monitored. Towards the end of the summer, we learned that Gehrig's condition was getting worse and surgery would have to be done sooner than we hoped. Gehrig was not gaining weight and it took all of his energy to eat two ounces at a time. Surgery was scheduled for August 24, 2004, the day Gehrig turned 4 months old. The day we met with the surgeons was scarier than the actual surgery! They were very reassuring.

They took the time to sit with us and answer all of our questions. Before the surgery, the doctors further reassured us by meeting with us again and allowing us to ask any last minute questions. During the surgery, nurses periodically came to give us updates on Gehrig's progress. At one point Dr. Salazar himself came out to speak to us. It was very comforting! After Gehrig's surgery, we spent a week in Santa Rosa's Pediatric ICU. All of the nurses on staff were wonderful! They were very busy, but they always took the time to answer questions and explain procedures. The day Gehrig ate six ounces in one feeding, they celebrated with us! Since then, Gehrig is still being closely monitored.

Recently we were back in the pediatric ICU at Santa Rosa. We ran into some of his previous nurses, who remembered us and asked how we were, they even stopped bye to say hi to Gehrig. Today Gehrig is a healthy fourteen month old baby. He has become quite the eater! We are very thankful to the Congenital Heart Program of Texas for all they did for Gehrig!

Submitted by Jenny Noojibail-Brown