Heart Hero of the Month & Omaha Superhero Heart Run Ambassador September 2023
Story by, ❤️Mom Lacey
Kash Pruitt was born in Holdrege NE on 6/6/17, at that time we didn’t know anything was wrong with him, his HLHS Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome was not detected in utero. We were shocked when he was 12 hours old and was starting to struggle to breathe. Nurses called the Doctor into the hospital during the middle of the night, he then decided he needed to be taken to Kearney Hospital which was a little bigger hospital where they would have access to more tests. The Kearney doctor said she thought it was HLHS and was sending him on to Children’s Hospital in Omaha.
I had a c-section, so they were reluctant to send me right away, but my doctor knew I needed to go to be with him, so they quickly released me. We went home to pack clothes because I knew it was going to be a lengthy stay. My sister also had a son born with the same thing and he was in there for a few months several years prior. We drove the 3 ½ hour drive down there and when we got there they were waiting with his surgery papers for us to sign. Kash had been flown by airplane, so he beat us there by a few hours. They quickly rushed him down for his first open heart surgery at 14 hours old. They told us it could take 3-4 hours and they came out around 3 ½ hours and said they couldn’t do the one surgery they wanted so they were going to band his PA instead. He then went into the PICU and was there for what seemed like forever. He had to be on oxygen for a few weeks. I finally got to hold my baby again on June 27, 2017, that’s a very long time to not get to hold your newborn baby. I was so glad that I snuggled him so much right after he was born before we knew anything was wrong with him.
Kash finally got to go home for the first time on August 29, 2017. We had doctor’s appointments every other week, one at our regular doctor’s office and then the next week one at Children’s Hospital. We had tried several times to get him in for his next scheduled surgery, but we had to keep putting it off. Kash was either sick, had just been sick or the hospital was too full. He had been put in the hospital due to sickness a few times in that time frame.
I was so glad I got to have him home for a few months, even though we were in and out of the hospital, I at least had him home some. March came and he finally got to go in for his surgery that led us to stay until July 2, 2018, when he finally got to go home again, but it didn’t last long he was taken back to children’s by helicopter this time, he was in bad shape.
Kash had so many open-heart surgeries and was opened so many times I lost track. His lungs and heart weren’t functioning as they should. He was sedated and proned so many times to help keep him going. They ended up putting a trach in and adding him to the heart transplant list, it wasn’t listed very long before we got the call that they had a heart for him.
Kash had his transplant 0n November 25, 2018, and was doing well but of course, Kash made his own rules and would get infections, get sick, or have issues with his lines. Kash kept everyone on their toes that’s for sure.
Finally, Kash was doing so good that we were planning on moving up to the 5th floor, the “Go-Home Floor”.
I had to leave for a couple of days for my niece’s high school graduation, while I was gone, Kash had a stroke. Kash had a great big blood clot on his brain stem.
We decided to let him go to Heaven on May 16, 2019, where he went to be with Jesus.
Kash was loved by so many people including ones who had never even met him in his short life. He absolutely loved his nurses and doctors; they also loved him. I will forever be grateful to them for allowing me to spend almost two very rough years with him by his side. I cannot thank Children’s Hospital enough for the wonderful care he received while there.
