Henry
On August 21, 2003, my husband, William, and I welcomed our son into our wonderful family. In our eyes, all things seemed great. We loved each other very much; we had a beautiful and healthy daughter; and now, a son. How complete. Two days later, we left the hospital with news that Henry had a heart murmur and needed to be checked in one week by his pediatrician. The week passed with little or no thought given to any murmur. But at the appointment his pediatrician said she wanted him to see a pediatric cardiologist just to be sure. The next day, we met Henry's cardiologist, Dr. David Malpass. He, too, thought Henry's murmur wasn't anything to be concerned about but to be sure we would have an ultrasound of his heart. That's when the floor collapsed beneath us. Suddenly, nothing was complete and all was wrong with the world. At eight days old, our little bundle of joy was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect. It's called AV canal defect and it requires open-heart surgery almost immediately. After several appointments and eleven weeks we found ourselves in Charleston having Henry's first open-heart surgery. This surgery patched the two holes in his heart and found a leaking mitral valve, (which was stitched during the surgery but later caused many problems). Little did we know there would be more to come. Henry's surgery went very well and we left the hospital in four days. We came home and had a wonderful Thanksgiving. After all, we had a lot to be thankful for, a loving family, a wonderful church and a healthy baby.
Then, at one of his cardiology appointments, Dr. Malpass found that Henry's mitral valve was leaking severely and required surgical repair. Henry was very sick and unhappy between his first and second surgery. He was hospitalized twice for respiratory sickness and required breathing treatments every 4-6 hours daily. He was also taking two heart medicines daily. Not at all what you expect when you're expecting.
We go on to MUSC again for Henry's second surgery. Henry is now seven months old. Again, he does remarkably well. The same surgeon operates on Henry and he repairs the valve. He places many stitches to help the valve close properly. Before we leave Charleston, we are told Henry's valve is leaking mildly but he could live for a long time if not forever that way. We are happy. We come home and relax for a little while. Henry's respiratory problems go away and things seem to be looking up. We have a wonderful summer. We go to the beach, see our family, breathe. In September 2004, Henry's thirteen months old. We see his cardiologist. Dr. Malpass says Henry needs surgery, again, but maybe we could wait until the beginning of 2005. He sends all the information to Charleston and Dr. Crawford, Henry's surgeon, says there is no benefit to waiting. Henry needs the surgery as soon as possible. His valve is leaking severely, again. The surgeon says it may be a possible valve replacement that would change Henry's life forever. We spoke with the surgeon over the phone towards the end of October. We asked lots of questions. He answered us as best he could but said most of it was 'wait and see'. He did tell us not to think everything would be great because Henry did so well the first two surgeries. He said he could remember when he opened Henry's chest the second time that there was a lot of scar tissue and now to be opened a third time there would be even more scar tissue. Because of this reason, Henry had a 20% mortality rate. We were told there was a 20% chance our son would die on the operating table. But he was only one! Why? How could this be? Everything has been so wonderful over the summer. We finally started feeling normal and now this - another surgery? Don't get me wrong, we prayed hard each time before, during and after Henry's surgeries. But there was something about this time that really got to me. We scheduled the surgery date for November 17, 2004. Just one year after the first surgery. We had less than a month. I prayed everyday to my Lord Jesus Christ to take away Henry's scar tissue. I asked God to allow Henry to keep his own valve. I sobbed on the floor by Henry's bed at night while he slept. I would hold him in my arms and in my head and my heart I would be screaming out to God to heal our son. I begged Jesus, the Great Physician, to take away that scar tissue that threatened our baby's life. I reminded Him of His promise in Matthew 21:22, "whatsoever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." On the day of his surgery, we prayed the whole time he was in surgery. The ministers at our church were praying for Henry. Finally, everything was finished and we could see Henry. Dr. Crawford meets us in ICU and tells us everything went well. He said, "Henry had hardly any scar tissue. I can't explain it." I didn't really hear anything after that because I began to praise God. I've told everyone who knows about Henry what God did for him and us that day. I've even written the surgeon and told him. Jesus performed a miracle that day, one that I will never forget, one that I will tell others about until my last breath.
Henry is doing so well now. He's 5 and he was taken off all his medicines three years ago. His cardiologist says he is definitely beating the odds. His valve should not be doing as well as it is because it functions practically as well as one that hasn't been operated on three times. He has no leak anymore and you would never know he went through anything. Only when you see his scar. Henry plays and enjoys life just like most other children his age.
I pray God will always receive the glory for the gift He gave us that day. Blessed be the name of the Lord. God still performs miracles today. We just have to ask and believe.
Sincerely,
Michelle Bland
William Bland
Aubrey Bland
Henry Bland