Children's Champions

Within minutes of being born, Oliver began turning blue. Test results showed he had a congenital heart defect. Within four hours, he was transported to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, diagnosed with transposition of the great arteries and rushed into emergency surgery. His parents had no idea their child would have a congenital heart defect. Eight days later, Oliver underwent TGA repair surgery, an open-heart surgery. It was successful, however, Oliver did suffer a setback at home. His heart was pumping too fast for his little body. After weeks of trying different medication combinations, doctors from Herma Heart Center at Children’s Hospital found a mix that worked. Because Oliver was a growing baby, his medications were continually adjusted and he was put on a 24-hour heart monitor. At 16-months, Oliver was taken off his medication. Today, his parents say Oliver is doing as well as anyone can expect. His dad said, “I have a list of doctors and nurses I’ll be forever grateful for. They gave Oliver an opportunity to live.”

Before Mycajah Reese was born, her parents learned she only had half a heart. They also were told to plan for the worst – if she even made it to birth. Then, Tammie and Joe connected with doctors from Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. “We met with Dr. Michele Frommelt. From that point our daughter’s condition had a name, the doctors had a plan and we had hope,” said Joe. In July 2008, Mycajah Reese was born with hypoplastic right heart syndrome. She was missing her right heart ventricle, and situs inversus, her organs are the mirror image of normal organs. Since birth, Mycajah Reese has gone through numerous procedures, blood transfusions, trips to the emergency room and two open heart surgeries. Today she is thriving. Her mom said when they drive down the highway past the hospital, Mycajah Reese says, “That’s where my doctors are!” “They have given Mycajah Reese a sense of trust and faith that she’s in great hands,” said Tammie. “The staff and support at Children’s Hospital make her appointments and extended stays as enjoyable and comforting as possible. We’re blessed to have a family in the staff at Children’s Hospital.”

In 2004, Cayden was diagnosed with a heart defect. He was just 9 months old. One month later, Cayden received a coarctation repair, a procedure that decreases the amount of blood leaving the heart. Five years later, Cayden received a second heart surgery on two valves. Cayden’s mother, Marie, said, “As a single parent I had to continue working, I felt completely comfortable with the staff caring for Cayden while I was away.” Cayden recovered from both surgeries and he was later diagnosed with Shone’s syndrome, a condition affecting the size of his heart valves and passageways. That means Cayden may need more heart surgeries. Marie said, “Cayden will continue his care with Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin no matter how far away we live.”

On the first day of summer vacation in 2010, Moira told her parents her back and knees hurt and her feet tingled. Her parents, Molly and Todd, told Moira to get up and walk around, but she couldn’t rise to her feet. They took her to their local hospital, which referred her to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. “Within minutes, three doctors were in the room working on her,” said Molly. Moira was diagnosed with transverse myelitis, a small lesion on the spinal cord that had become inflamed. Moira endured five days of heavy steroids to reduce the swelling in her back. Moira was bed ridden for two days and needed her parents to help stretch her muscles so they would not deteriorate. On the third day, Moira finally walked again. “Although it was only 10 feet, it brought tears to our eyes,” Molly said. “One of the great things about Children’s Hospital is that they always talked to Moira, listened to what she had to say, explained what they would do for her, and tell her how she would be feeling so it would not scare her.” Moira still makes follow-up visits to Children’s Hospital as she progresses towards a full recovery.
 

While crossing the street to catch his school bus, then 12-year-old Noah was hit by a truck. He was thrown more than 50 feet. His injuries were severe: collapsed lungs and a broken femur. Flight for Life flew Noah to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin where he was rushed into surgery. For the next eight hours Noah’s parents waited while they were updated on his condition. “At one point during the surgery, we were told that if Noah did survive the surgery, there was a possibility he might lose a leg,” said Sherry, Noah’s mom. Noah did survive and doctors were able to save his leg. However, they had to remove one-third of his right lung due to a five-inch long laceration. Eight surgeries and 25 days later, Noah was released from Children’s Hospital. He can walk on his own again, but has a metal plate and 11 screws in his femur. Noah’s parents will be forever grateful for the care their son received from the trauma team, nursing staff, therapists and specialists. Noah’s mom said, “I asked one of the doctors on the trauma team what kept them working on Noah for so many hours and I was told, ‘One word – Noah!’”