Christopher "Kirtley" Hudson
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| Daryl has been through a lot for such a young boy. He was life-flighted to our closest children's hospital in Louisville, Kentucky when he was approx. 30 hours old. He had surgery at 2 days old to repair his Interrupted Aortic Arch, at 20 days old, he had Open Heart Surgery to repair the two holes in his heart; a small ASD (atrial septal defect) and a moderate to large VSD (ventricular septal defect). They did not completely patch the VSD, but he is doing fine with it now. At 20 days of age, he had to have a permanent pacemaker implanted as a result of the Open Heart Surgery. We knew this was a risk going in. The surgery caused damage to the electrical system of his heart; the part that regulates heartbeats. The pacemaker at the time seemed so large for such a small baby. I remember he would lay in his stroller and the entire stroller would shake with each heart beat. Daryl was in the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for 2 1/2 months, during which 2 months of that time, we didn't know whether he would make it or not. No parent should have to go through something like that. He spent a total of 55 days at that time on a ventilator, and did suffer some neurological problems associated with the lack of oxygen, mainly affecting his muscle tone and motor skills. Daryl was 27 months old when he started walking, but once he started, he didn't stop! On another note, he could whistle before the age of two. Go figure! He had a busy year when he turned three. He got sick and ended up with bronchitis one day, double pneumonia the next, and the third day, had gone into congestive heart failure (CHF). He was once again life flighted back to Louisville. After getting over that, later on he had his second pacemaker implanted, eye muscle surgery on both eyes (lazy eye and has no depth perception) and a hydrocele repair. In January of 2004, he had his third pacemaker implanted. This time, they were able to insert a transveinous pacer, up near the shoulder instead of the abdomen. He had some problems the first couple of days and had to stay longer than expected, but all is well now. We ended up changing Electrophysiologists because his current one was no longer able to practice at our local children's hospital. It all worked out for the best in the long run, because with this cardiologist, I have learned so much more than ever before. Plus, he's got a wonderful bedside manner in dealing with an over protective, want-to-know-it-all mother! It was quite different dealing with everything as a single parent this time, but we all survived! Dad came to the hospital the day of the surgery, but had to go back home right after Daryl was placed back in his regular room, because he was "tired". So, Dakota and I got comfy and lived the hospital life for several days. I think Dakota enjoyed it tho. He sure was a big help! Daryl will be having heart catherizations in the future, more heart surgeries including more pacer implantations and angioplasties, plus another hydrocele repair at some point. He has over 45 *bravery badges* as we call them, and he's proud of every single one and not ashamed to show anyone. He has always tried twice as hard as other children to complete anything, and the thrill is at least twice as great when the deed is accomplished. Daryl truly is an outstanding, happy child that lives each moment to the fullest. We are truly blessed! We will always remember Daryl's first little NICU buddies that did not make it and are now angels. They are Dillon Sawyer and Kirtley Hudson. We will always make sure that Daryl knows who they are, too. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Click on the tulip to read "Welcome to Holland", a poem that describes what it's like to have a child with *special* needs. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| A very special thanks to Dolly Lee for her beautiful CHD graphics! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| In memory of Christopher "Kirtley" Hudson |
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| In memory of Dillon Sawyer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||