Background
In May 2007, doctors discovered the baby we were expecting had severe heart defects. So severe, in fact, that we were told he most likely would not live to be born. He had a hypoplastic (small) left heart, a complete atrioventricular canal, and coarctation (narrowing) of the aorta. Doctors also noticed a variety of other “defects,” including two club feet, and possible kidney and brain abnormalities. These, along with the diagnosis of Down syndrome, was a virtual death sentence for our child.
The doctors strongly suggested we terminate the pregnancy. We were told if he lived to be born, he would only survive a few hours, maybe days. We were devastated, but fell on our knees and prayed. All of our family and friends did the same. Before we knew it, people from all over this country (and even some overseas!) were praying for our family and for Matthew. We are still so humbled by and grateful for the number of people who keep us close in prayer.
Later ultrasounds showed his kidneys and brain had improved, and the left side of his heart had grown slightly. We were told he might be a candidate for surgery after birth, but we would have to wait to find out.
Matthew was born 9/14/07 at only 4lbs, 11oz, and 12 inches long. He was born via emergency C-section due to dangerous drops in his heart rate. He would have been too weak to survive labor. As it was, he was too weak to cry, and too weak to eat. Tests soon after birth showed that his heart had very complex defects – the left side was still too small to support life, and the right side was much too large, which would cause problems in his lungs. He still had the complete AV canal, and his aorta narrowed to only 2 millimeters, too small to carry an adequate blood supply. The only thing the doctors could offer was a series of 4 palliative surgeries that would not fix his heart, but rather “patch it up” to give him a little more time. These surgeries had never had good success on a child with Down syndrome, and he would have had the first (a complete aortic reconstruction) during his first week of life. His chances of even surviving the surgeries were slim, so we opted to take him home and love him, and enjoy whatever time we had with our little Matthew. Doctors said we may have as little as a week, or as much as 3-6 months.
Miraculous Healing
Matthew grew, getting stronger and more active, not weaker and sick as predicted. At 6 months old, we took him back to the cardiologists in Spokane. To everyone’s amazement, his heart had grown an
d healed in incredible ways. His left ventricle was now normal in size, and his aorta was normal as well, with no restriction of blood flow whatsoever! His right heart was still enlarged, and he still had the complete AV canal defect, but with the growth of the aorta and left ventricle, he was now an excellent candidate for surgery. The doctors could not explain the changes – kids usually don’t just grow 1/2 a heart and an aorta! His club feet have also healed themselves – perfectly straight, with no intervention required.
Matthew had surgery to repair is complete AV canal the morning of Wednesday, May 7th, 2008. As the doctors were beginning the surgery, they discovered that the VSD defect (hole between the bottom chambers of the heart) had healed itself! All that was left to do was patch the ASD (hole between the top chambers) and separate his common mitral/tricuspid valve into two separate, functional valves. Matthew did incredibly well with the surgery, and was 
in the hospital less than a week. For more details on complete AV canal repair, see the post “Surgery Details”, or any of the posts from May, 2008.
Since his surgery, Matthew has made incredible progress. He is now taking no medications whatsoever, and is a healthy, happy, loving little boy who enriches our family in ways we never could have imagined.
We praise our loving God, for Matthew is truly a miracle, and we can’t wait to see what God has in store for him.
Thank you for all the prayers you offer up for our precious little boy and for our family!
