Katelyn's Story | Gehrig's Story | Colman's Story

Our daughter Katelyn Faith came into this world on June 15, 2004. While it was one of the happiest days of our lives, it was also one that would prove to be very traumatic. Shortly after she was delivered, she was whisked away to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit due to some breathing complications. It was there that they discovered that she had a very large hole in her heart, which they referred to as a "Ventricular Septal Defect". At this point, because of a Triple Marker test that came back positive for Down's syndrome when I was 5 months pregnant with her, they decided to do further testing. We had our answer three days later - our daughter had Mosaic Trisomy Down Syndrome and a large hole in her heart.

As parents we were devastated by the news. We agreed that the Down syndrome was manageable, but it was the VSD that alarmed us. With this diagnosis came the news that she would one day have to undergo open heart surgery to repair the hole. 

We were followed very closely by her cardiologist but all to soon it became very evident that the surgery could not be postponed any longer. At first the signs were subtle but as time moved on she began to tire easily after feedings and to drop off the growth chart. We were extremely frightened and wondered how we could possibly surrender our 5 month old child to the complexities of open heart surgery.

Our wonderful Cardiologist Dr. Milhoan put us in contact with Dr.'s Calhoon and Salazar at Christus Santa Rosa Hospital. It was very evident to us through their compassion that they genuinely cared about our daughter and our concerns as her parents. They took the time to answer all of our questions, to address all of our concerns and to clarify exactly what the surgery would entail. Because we were treated with such respect and caring, there was never a doubt that she was in the most capable hands available. After her surgery, the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Christus Santa Rosa Hospital rose above and beyond any expectations that we had. Not only were they caring and concerned, but they made themselves available to us at all hours. Dr.'s Calhoon and Salazar visited Katelyn several times a day during her stay in the hospital and were never too rushed to answer our questions or to update us on her recovery. We could have never wished for a better experience in light of the situation that was before us.

Today, Katelyn is a vibrant and energetic 7 month old. She has continued to gain weight and has made a complete recovery. We owe the health of our precious daughter to Dr. Calhoon to the caring and compassionate staff. Our words seem so inadequate in lieu of the gift that they have given to us.

John and Pam Bovaird