A North Bay family is grateful to have their young son at home with them after much of his early life was spent in the hospital to treat two rare heart conditions.
Doctors went from saying he was too weak to have surgery, to then suggesting a heart transplant would be his best chance to stay alive just weeks after he was born last summer.
Those values were tested quickly after learning her son had a congenital heart defect called Ebstein's Anomaly, a deformity of one of the valves in the heart. He also had a separate condition on the left side of his heart. Part of the challenge was that one condition made it difficult to undergo surgery but the other usually requires it.
He made the list at two-weeks-old, but it was still going to be a challenge to find a match for a baby of his size. Slowly, he started to improve on his own by coming off medication, a breathing tube, and leaving the intensive care unit. Hollander says Sky has a genetic mutation which explains the combination of symptoms, and they will continue to study it. But for now, he says Sky looks like any other baby. A relief for his parents who are enjoying simple moments with their son around the house or even on walks in the neighborhood.
"I really feel like that's been a huge factor in Sky's recovery is how many people have been rooting for him since day one," Barrett said."Sky would not be here today if I hadn't gone in with a strange pain that had nothing to do with what was going on with him."
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