Here is Mavericks Story. Our sweet boy whom we thought to be healthy, was born on June 7th, 2013 full term @ 38 weeks. When his color was not right, and the Oxygen levels in his blood did not come up he was immediately rushed to 3 different hospitals and then medivaced to the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton Alberta. We then discovered his extremely complex heart condition. Maverick a born a beautiful perfect little boy had 9 things wrong with his teeny tiny heart and needed it to be fixed or else he would die. Maverick underwent an extremely complex open heart surgery on June 14th, 2013. The 9 complications with his heart were: Taussig Bing, Double Outlet Right Ventricle, Transposition of the Great Arteries, Coarctation of the Aorta, Narrowing of the Aorta, ASD, VSD, and Left and Right Shot Gun Coronary Arteries. Maverick coded in the OR. They hooked him back onto bypass and once again stopped his heart, opened his chest and tried to fix the complex coronary arties once more. We as parents waited for our sweet boy for 11 hours. Maverick has 24 hours to prove to everyone that he would survive the trauma placed on his body. Mavericks parents were put in a room with a single bed just outside the walls of the intensive care unit where Mavericks dad woke to check on him every two hours. They were exhausted as the night before they had spent every waking hour in the NICU with their baby boy incase he didn’t survive the surgery. And that chance was large. The times were intense and 100% focus was put on him. The following day at the 22nd hour Maverick went into cardiac arrest & his heart stopped for 43 minutes. The amazing doctors at the Children’s Stollery hospital of Alberta did CPR for the full 43 minutes getting Maverick back and putting him on ECMO life support. {A machine pumping for his heart, lungs, and kidneys.} It was there that David & Rachel began to meet their dearest friends ~ Rylie’s parents. Aimee & Richard. Rylie also went onto ECMO the day before Maverick and Aimee also spent every waking hour at her daughters side for fear of losing them. Maverick continued to fight through a whole multitude of other battles. I, as his mom who spent the entire time at his side (10 months total in hospital, 5 months in intensive care) can hardly believe what he has endured & what God himself carried us through. David, who had to continue to provide for his family flew back and forth when he could from Manitoba, and their two boys who stayed with grandma one hour away. In one year ~ heartbreaking to his family & all who knew him, Maverick fought through 27 surgeries, 4 sepsis blood infections, 3 cardiac arrests, 1 amputation, 4 strokes, 1 paralyzed vocal chord, crushed lungs & massive organ failure to summarize. I would have to write a book to explain the ups and downs rollercoaster of this life changing journey. In the end we are thankful. Thankful to GOD & all your prayers that went up for us, thankful for the experience that make us not take a single day for granted. Thankful that Maverick is here today thriving with his two older brothers & sister on the way. When Maverick was very very sick, and they were given the first ‘hope’ that Maverick might indeed make it home with them today ~ his momma, out of thankfulness, wrote this poem: It was in that room. That meeting surrounded with doctors and nurses of every kind where each one of them said they don’t think Maverick would make it, Rachel & David decided their only hope was in the LORD. They had to take the chance that the Lord would raise their child up along with a million other prayers and keep his heart beating & surviving on its own without a transplant… they could see with their own eyes that their child would surely die. The surgery is long and risky, we prayed for a miracle. The infection is bad, he will not make it. we prayed for a miracle. He will not come off the VAD we prayed for a miracle. His kidneys will not recover we prayed for a miracle. There were a billion other times~ we prayed for a miracle. He surprised us all! We said A whole army of hosts were praying for a miracle. Here he is after, 26 surgeries, nearly 300 units of blood, 3 cardiac arrests 1 right atrium hemorrhage massive organ failure, crushed lung 4 sepsis infections amputation paralyzed vocal chord 1 heartbroken mommy ~ and a million other tests, scans, & things, our baby ~ our fighter, has surely shown them to be Gods little miracle*. Mavericks family spent 10 months split apart while Maverick was fighting for his life at the Stollery Chirldrens Hospital in Edmonton. After 2 months of staying close to the ICU at a hotel across the road, David, & Rachel made their way to a long term residence the Ronald Mc Donald House of Northern Alberta where that was home away from home for 7 months. David would fly out from Manitoba on weekends whenever he could and the two boys Colten and Brody spent their year 1 hour away in Devon Alberta. Weekends that were spent together were found grateful in the safe haven of RMH & the Stollery Children’s hospital and at those times they would treasure and cherish family. The name Maverick means ‘One who defies the Odd’s’ & Maverick did just that. Doctors gave maverick a 5% chance of ever going home and time and time again they knew they might loose him. The name Maverick gives others HOPE. Hope in God, the power of prayer & that Miracles really do exist. Congenital Heart Disease is the Leading cause of infant death, and 1 in 100 children have it. Never give up hope & give your loved one the best life possible. Maverick is currently at home but unfortunately CHD is a never ending battle. Maverick & his family support Lukeys Light Foundation & support all you do. May the legend live on. {you are definitely welcome to share. so people know! ~the journey of a heart family*.}
Posted on: Tue, 23 Sep 2014 16:05:58 +0000
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