written by Cori Bumgardner, Taye’s mother
In August of 2013, at our 20-week ultrasound, the doctor told us our baby had a heart condition called Transposition of the Greater Arteries. This news was shocking and scary, as the doctor explained that our baby would need open-heart surgery as soon as he was born in order to survive. Besides the heart condition, the doctors were convinced there was something else “wrong”, as he was measuring three weeks behind. This became a bigger concern, as they knew heart surgery was necessary, but if the baby was not at least 4.5 pounds at birth, the surgery may not be possible. So, at 20 weeks, the doctor put me on bedrest, to ensure the best opportunity to get this baby to grow to at least 4.5 pounds, so he could undergo the life-saving heart surgery.
Transposition of the greater arteries (TGA) occurs in only five of every 10,000 babies born in the United States. TGA occurs when the two main arteries going out of the heart (the pulmonary and aorta) are switched in position, or “transposed”. The result of the transposition of these two vessels is that too little oxygen is in the blood that is pumped from the heart to the rest of the body. All children born with TGA require open heart surgery to treat the defect. Without surgical repair, called arterial switch, the majority of TGA patients would not survive their first year. Thus, the surgery is generally performed within a few days of birth. Babies with TGA will require lifelong follow-up with a cardiologist. Even so, with proper treatment, most babies with TGA grow up to lead healthy, productive lives.
On December 16, 2013, our son, Taye Thomas was born at the Methodist Women’s Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska. Just as doctors had warned us, he was a blue color and was very small. He was only 4lbs 15oz, despite being full term, but he was big enough to undergo surgery! As planned, he was transferred to Omaha’s Children’s Hospital and Medical Center within an hour of being born. The original plan was to perform heart surgery on December 19th, at three days old, but due to bleeding on the brain, they had to postpone a few days. On December 23, 2013, Taye underwent a six hour heart surgery performed by Dr. Hammel. Besides performing the arterial switch, Dr. Hammel also repaired four ventricular septal defects (VSD’s) in Taye’s heart. Taye ended up staying at Children’s Hospital for exactly a month. We are forever grateful for the amazing staff at Children’s Hospital.
Today Taye is a normal, healthy, two- year old boy. At Taye’s most recent cardiology check-up, the doctors indicated that another surgery will most likely be in Taye’s future to widen the arteries that go from the heart to the lungs, to allow more blood to flow through.
We are so thankful for our little “Heart Hero” and are honored to be part of the Heart Hero family! The Heart Hero organization has been a wonderful source of comfort as we share stories with other heart hero families as well as pray for each other. Although Taye does not yet understand superheroes or the significance of his Heart Hero Cape, he is our superhero and we know one day he will be proud to wear his cape.
God bless all of the Heart Heroes, Heart Angels, and their families!