Heart Hero of the Month March 2022

by, Rachel Larson

Braeden like most 6-year old’s loves to play, he loves shooting hoops, Lightning McQueen, computers and anything you can bounce, kick, throw or dribble. He is full of energy like most 6-year-old boys but the beginning of Braeden’s story isn’t as typical. When Braeden’s parents Shannon and Matt welcomed Braeden into the world they had no indication that anything was different about Braeden. All ultrasounds and tests came back perfect, and the couple expected a healthy baby boy. 

Matt remembers right after Braeden was born the doctor put his stethoscope up to Braeden’s tiny chest and said “Oh, we got one”. As a brand-new parent hearing that automatically raises an alarm.

What the doctor was referring to was a whooshing sound and a skip he detected in Braeden’s heart. The nurses promptly brought in an ultrasound machine right away to further investigate the irregularity. What they discovered was a hole in Braeden’s heart. At first, the doctor was not overly concerned as many times the heart repairs the hole itself over time without intervention.

Over the next few months, Braeden was continually monitored for progress but in Braeden’s case his heart was not healing correctly, in fact, the tissue was growing back but not in the right places. The doctor was growing concerned and it was time to take action.

At three months old Braeden’s heart surgery was scheduled. Due to scheduling conflicts, Braeden’s doctor called parents Shannon and Matt to come in one day early to have Braeden’s procedure. As a parent the anxiety is overwhelming, but Braeden’s parents had faith that he would come through the surgery. Braeden did.

The next nine days Braeden spent in the hospital PICU until finally, Braeden was well enough to return home. Shannon remembers during that time she cried a lot, she was scared to sleep, she was terrified, and she was always checking on Braeden.  Another difficulty of caring for Braeden after surgery was the fear of picking him up due to the cracked ribs from his surgery.

Thankfully, Braeden fully recovered from his surgery; however, the concern was far from over.

After his hospital stay, doctors conducted some genetic tests on Braeden and discovered a unique gene abnormality, an addition and a deletion on the 15th chromosome.

The annual Superhero Heart Run in Omaha, Nebraska, is a special day when Braeden’s family rally their support around Heart Hero Braeden, don their favorite capes and costumes, and dedicate the day to celebrating with other super supporters who share the same journey. The run is one of Braeden’s most favorite events of the year, and this year Braeden could not be more excited to celebrate the 10^th Annual event with his friends and family.