www.d4photography.com
According
to Tiny Light Ryker’s mother, the night of his birth was
“easily the best and worst night of my life.” Adrianna and Brad’s joy
at their son’s arrival turned to shock and heartbreak just hours later
when doctors told them that Ryker’s life was in danger. The newborn had
four major congenital heart defects, including transposition of the
great arteries. TGA occurs when the heart’s two main blood vessels, the
aorta and the pulmonary artery, have developed in reverse positions –
resulting in a lack of oxygen-rich blood being pumped to the body.
Ryker
had his first cardiac procedure when he was just ten days old, but his
health continued to deteriorate. The decision was made to perform major
open heart surgery when he was two months old. The surgery went as well
as could be hoped, but shortly afterward Ryker’s heart suddenly stopped
beating. As his terrified parents looked on, caregivers gave Ryker CPR
for six long minutes until he fought his way back to life again.
Since then, this Tiny Light has had other health challenges, including surgery to reconstruct his skull, which had fused prematurely. But hopefully Ryker will not need further heart surgery for another few years. In the meantime, Adrianna says, “I can't believe a child so young is SO strong! He is A LOT stronger than me at times. You could tell he already loves life, and his strength is a surefire indication he plans on sticking around for the rest of it.”
Written by Jayne Akizuki
0 comments:
Post a Comment