Fox's Story

Images captured by Anna Jones Photography

www.annajones.ca

Meet Tiny Light Fox. This little guy is happiest when listening to music or spending time in his bouncy chair. Though he is still so young, he has already demonstrated immense strength and bravery.

Twenty-two weeks into pregnancy, Fox’s parents were told that their son had a serious heart defect. He was diagnosed with transposition of the great vessels, DORV (double outlet right ventricle), coarctation of the aorta, VSD (ventricular septal defect) and an ASD (atrial septal defect). When he was born, the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck twice and he was blue. He was immediately given treatment to stabilize him until doctors could fix his heart. At just five days old, Fox was scheduled for a four to six hour surgery but ended up in there for 11 hours. There were some major complications, but Fox continued to fight and he pulled through. Complications from the surgery included collapsed lungs, pneumonia, chylothorax, blood infection, pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary stenosis and arterial flutters. Fox was in the cardiac care unit for four and a half weeks but made it home just in time for Christmas.

Fox will face more surgeries in his future but his parents remain positive. As his mother says, “I'm so proud of my brave little man ... To see my son struggle and fight for his life has taught me a lot about what's worth fighting for. We don't know what the future holds for Fox but we know he will continue to fight.”

Story by Emily Harrison