John and Mimi McDonald were elated when they found out their family of four would soon be expanding to five. After miscarrying twice before, Mimi was really excited when she first heard the baby’s heart beat  at eight weeks gestation.  Little did the McDonalds know that their developing baby would have a serious congenital heart defect.    

As an active mom, and a dance instructor, Mimi kept busy during her pregnancy. What joy she felt as they anticipated the arrival of their long awaited third child. At Mimi’s 20 week check up John and Mimi learned they were having a baby girl. They were also told that everything checked out perfectly, a blessing Mimi, having experienced her own heart problems, did not take for granted. With that news, John, Mimi and their two children, Jensen and Ellie, continued to prepare for the arrival of their sweet little girl.  

But then a few weeks after the ultrasound Mimi couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.  She worried that something was wrong with the baby’s heart.   In spite of being told everything looked perfect, she decided to get a fetal echo done like she had with her other two children. Not worrying too much about it, she insisted her husband stay at work during the appointment. Mimi had had many fetal echoes in the past, all resulting in good news. During the echo, she glanced over at the screen and noticed that one side of her baby’s heart was significantly larger than the other. She thought it was probably just the angle of the probe, and continued watching the screen as the technician gathered the information for the pediatric cardiologist. Minutes later after watching the baby’s heart from all angles, the image  did not seem to change. Mimi casually commented that one side looked so much bigger than the other. The technician said nothing, and Mimi felt her heart sink, a feeling she would be becoming very familiar with in the weeks and months to come. She made another casual comment about the size, and detecting Mimi’s understanding made the comment, “I’m not going to lie to you, it’s not normal.” As Mimi began to cry her pediatric cardiologist came into the exam room; which was unusual.  When she saw his face she knew he had bad news for her. She said, “The left side is really big.” He said, “Yes it is, let’s sit down and talk about it.” The next ten minutes were a blur to Mimi. The only thing she heard was, “Your daughter will need a heart transplant.”  

Jason and Heather Merseal of Potosi, Missouri had been married for 13 years when they began to discuss having another baby.  Their girls Taryn, age 10, and Lauryn, age 7  had grown to be independent young ladies. The Merseal family had experienced a rough couple of years with Heather’s mom’s battle with cancer and subsequent death in June 2006.  Jason and Heather felt like they needed something positive, something to renew their hope and make their family smile again.  They wanted another child.  The first attempt at pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage in April of 2007 but shortly afterward, they learned Heather was pregnant again.  This time the pregnancy progressed uneventfully,  and the Merseal family anticipated the arrival of a healthy baby due in early 2008.  

On Feb. 13, 2008, around midnight, Heather’s water broke.  Jason drove her frantically to the hospital in St. Louis, Missouri.  The trip that normally takes 90 minutes took only 40 minutes that night.  After a long trial of labor,   Charli Anna arrived via c-section at 3:21am.   She was a large baby.   The doctor’s first comment was “Look at the size of this kid!?!”, but then the joking stopped as concerns mounted that something wasn’t quite right.  The baby was rushed out of the delivery room, and Jason was left wondering “Where did they take the baby?”  After several minutes, Jason went down the hall to the nursery and hoped to see his new baby girl all wrapped up in a pink blanket like all the other babies, but there was no Merseal baby in the nursery.  Instead, a doctor he’d never met before came out and told him there was something wrong with Charli Anna.  It was either an infection or a heart defect, and they would know for sure within the hour.     

After an hour, Jason was told that Charli Anna had a heart defect called Transposition of the Great Arteries and open heart surgery (an arterial switch procedure) would be required as soon as possible.  Jason and Heather were allowed to meet Charli Anna for just a few minutes in a secluded area of the hospital.  It was difficult to watch their new baby crying silently because she was intubated and no sound could be heard.   It was also heartwrenching  not to be able to hold her or console her, and to see her with tubes coming from her belly button, her mouth, her nose, her arms & legs, and lead wires coming from her chest. 

Last summer, Nate and Kim Scadlock of Des Moines, Iowa were anxiously awaiting the arrival of the newest addition to their family.  Kim was pregnant with their second child, due in mid August, 2007.  At the time, Nate was working his summer job, still on his summer break from his enrollment as a full-time nursing student in Des Moines.  Kim had made arrangements with her employer to work up to her due date, giving advanced notice of her intention to leave the workforce indefinitely once the baby was born.  She planned to stay home to take care of the baby and their then 13-month-old daughter, Gwen.   Everything seemed to be proceeding as planned and there was much to be excited about.  The Scadlocks had no idea their world was about to be turned upside down. 

On August 1, 2007, Kim gave birth to an 8 pound 11 oz bundle of joy; a baby boy they named  Beckham, after the popular British soccer phenomenon. The Scadlocks were elated with the birth of their new son and basked in the joy of the precious gift that God had entrusted them with.  But their elation lasted only an hour.  During a routine neonatal assessment, Beckham’s nurse detected a suspicious heart murmur.  After further evaluation, it was determined that Beckham’s murmur was a potentially serious problem.   Beckham was transferred to Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines for a more thorough cardiac evaluation.  The news was not encouraging, and Beckham was subsequently transferred to the NICU at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines, where they were better prepared to handle newborns with cardiac problems.  
   

At Mercy, Beckham was found to have a severe congenital heart defect called Mitral Valve Stenosis. It is a rare cardiac anomaly in which the mitral valve- the valve between the left atrium and ventricle-  is narrowed, stiffened, and in Beckham’s case, even incomplete.  It is a very serious condition and the pediatric cardiologists told the family the situation was grim.  On August 5th, 2007, at just 5 days old, Beckham was transferred to the University of Iowa Children's Hospital, where he could receive a higher level of care.     

In Iowa City, cardiologists discovered additional problems with Beckham’s heart and observed indications that his deteriorating heart function was beginning to cause problems with other organs as well.  It was clear that Beckham was in trouble and in need of some type of an interventional procedure to improve the function of his failing heart.  Surgery to repair his malformed valve was considered, but subsequently deemed to be too risky given the circumstances.     Beckham’s team of doctors informed the Scadlocks that the only other option was a heart transplant.  So at the tender age of 6 days old, Beckham was listed for a transplant.   

Not even a week after welcoming their second child into the world, Kim and Nate were overwhelmed by what was playing out with Beckham.  Beckham’s heart condition had them reeling.  They were scared and stressed out, completely consumed and engrossed with what was happening with their new son.   Both Kim and Nate’s parents flew from their home in Utah to be with them as they waited to for Beckham’s new heart.  They entered 'hurry up and wait' mode.  Beckham’s condition was deteriorating; the sooner a donor heart became available, the better.  But if the waiting went on too long, risky interventional methods such as surgery to repair the valve could become necessary just to get Beck to transplant.   

Miraculously, a donor heart became available after only 10 days on the waiting list, and on  August 17, 2007, Beckham received his heart transplant.  By God’s grace, the surgery and the early post-transplant period went flawlessly.  Beckham was released from the hospital on September 7th, 2007, not even 6 weeks old and 3 weeks post-transplant.  The little guy left the hospital on only 3 different types of medications, and was tapered down to two medications a short time later.     

These days, Kim reports that Beckham is doing extremely well.  He’s healthy and full of energy, and is reaching all the appropriate developmental milestones for an infant his age.  Nate and Kim are extremely grateful for their son.  They acknowledge they received the gift of life from a stranger, and they are forever grateful for the selfless actions of the donor family.     

The Erika Kate Foundation was approached by the pediatric cardiac social worker at Iowa Children’s Hospital to determine whether the Scadlocks were eligible for financial assistance during their time of crisis.  As the situation was unfolding,  Nate and Kim stayed at the hospital with Beckham and had no intention of being anywhere else.  With neither of them working, and the bills back home still rolling in, the Scadlocks knew it was just a matter of time before serious financial burdens began bearing down on them, compounding an already white knuckle situation.  After conversing with the social worker, EKF made a mortgage payment on the family’s behalf.   As it turns out, this single and simple act of charity enabled the Scadlocks to keep their financial heads above water as they dealt with the more pressing matters of their recent challenges- Beckham’s health, and the well-being of their family unit. 

It was a great pleasure to help the Scadlocks, and EKF looks forward to helping many more families just like them in days to come.  Here’s to good outcomes!  We wish them all the best.  Beckham’s progress can be followed on the Scadlock’s blog site, www.scadlock.blogspot.com.

Nessa Jayne Gorham, a “miracle baby”, was born on May 5, 2005, after a complicated pregnancy and delivery.  There were multiple close calls with her little life en utero,  but in the first days after her birth, everything seemed to be returning to normal and her  new parents, Nathan and Maegan, anxiously waited to take their precious bundle home.  Reality shifted, however, when Nessa’s discharge exam revealed a suspicious  heart murmur. Instead of being sent home, Nessa was sent to have an echocardiogram and an EKG.  She was also scheduled for an appointment with a pediatric cardiologist early the following Monday.    

Monday, May 9th, 2005 was one of the most difficult, overwhelming, and terrifying days for the Gorham family.   The Gorhams learned Nessa had a congenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot, consisting of four major structural abnormalities of the heart:  a large hole between the ventricles, pulmonary stenosis (obstruction from the right ventricle to the lungs), an overriding aorta, and a thickened right ventricle.  It was determined that Nessa would need open heart surgery by the age of six months, and possibly sooner if her condition became unstable.   

Being new parents, the Maegan and Nathan  were frustrated, scared, and confused.  The doctors didn’t want to overwhelm them with the details of Nessa's condition, and they had lots of questions the doctors weren't able to answer.  Nessa visited her doctor often during those first few weeks and had a visiting nurse come to her home three times a week, just to check on her condition.  When Nessa was three weeks old, the family spent a long weekend at the University of Iowa Children's Hospital to start her on propranolol, a medication used to slow her heart rate and indirectly, control retractions in her breathing. 

After being started on the propranolol, Nessa’s condition appeared to have stabilized.  Nessa’s surgery to repair her heart defect was scheduled for November 2005, and the Gorhams managed to enjoy life with their new baby for the next 5 months.   Nessa was able to maintain normal blood oxygen levels during this period of time, which was very good.   Maegan and Nathan were thrilled as Nessa was extraordinarily happy and very active, although quite small for her age.  She had minor physical delays, such as rolling over and sitting up, but nothing too significant. 

On October 19th, less than 2 weeks before her scheduled repair, Nessa began acting unusually lethargic.  Her face held a bluish color, and she  was not smiling, which was very unusual.  Maegan contacted Nessa’s pediatric cardiologist who suggested Nessa be brought to the University for an examination.  Upon arrival, the doctors determined she was having a “tet spell”, and her blood oxygen level had dropped to 68%, well below normal.  Nessa stayed in the hospital for four days, before the team decided to move her surgery up to October 24th. In another white knuckle day for  for the Gorhams, Nessa spent five hours in surgery, followed by three days in the PICU and another five days on the pediatric floor, with no major complications.  Her surgeon was very happy with the repair, and Nessa made a quick recovery. 

Today, Nessa is three years old and ornery!  She’s doing great!  Her only limitation is not being able to participate in competitive sports,  a small and insignificant detail in the big picture.  Her doctors estimate that she has less than a 25% chance of needing a second repair.  She has a great sense of humor and an active imagination, with the vocabulary to match. She loves to spend time with her family and her dogs, and she never stops smiling!! You go, Nessa!