At my 20 week scan, I found out that Briar had a very severe and rare heart defect, Double Outlet Right Ventricle, due to a very rare chromosome disorder. Throughout the remainder of my pregnancy, Briar always had the option of surgery until he didn't. 

At 31 weeks, Briar had developed Hydrops. A fatal condition when the heart produces too much fluid and it gathers around other major organs. At this time, the only option we had for Briar to live was to get him out now via c-section. We were told he would not live, there was a 5% chance of him making it out of the OR. When he was born I remember watching the screen, he was still for a while, but then he lifted his arm.

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He was whisked away to the CICU at Texas Children's and that week we found out that, because of his prematurity, his heart valves were too thin and he would not be a candidate for surgery, he would die in the hospital and never get to go home. From there we got second opinions from Dallas, CHOP, and Boston. Boston was the only hospital that said yes.

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We flew to Boston on his 1 month birthday and 3 days later, he was in open heart surgery. The physicians in Boston are built different. They said this was a difficult case but was it the hardest they've done, no. Boston gave my son a full biventricular repair and put him on ECMO twice during the repair, Texas said Briar was too weak for ECMO and the biventricular surgery. While in Boston he had multiple surgeries, scares and a sepsis infection; all he overcame.

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Briar came home to Houston in April 2020 with a trach and vent, he was decannulated about a year later. I remember the NICU doctor in Boston saying no one knew what Briar would do, what everyone thought he couldn't do, he basically flicked them off and said watch this. Briar is now 4, walking and full of energy. He loves trucks and dogs. He is stubborn as heck and the biggest mama's boy...all because of Boston Children's.