Published in Women's Lifestyle Magazine
April 2014 Issue
This story was part of a series written for the American Heart Association of West Michigan.
When Lindsay and Bob Tawoda went to their doctor’s office,
filled with the anticipation of new parents at finding out their baby’s gender,
the news was far from what they expected. In March 2012, Lindsay was 20 weeks
into her pregnancy, and they found out that they were having a son. They also
found out that their son had a heart defect.
“We were both devastated,” Lindsay Tawoda says. “And because
we both have a scientific background—we both work at MPI Research—it was this
curse and blessing at once. Understanding helped us cope, but it also meant we
knew enough that this was serious.”
After a nearly unbearable three weeks of waiting for more
information about the heart defect, a pediatric cardiologist told the Tawodas
that their son, whom they had named Cooper Owen, meaning “warrior,” had a rare
congenital heart defect called pulmonary atresia and hypoplastic right heart
syndrome, in which the right atrium and right valve of the heart are
underdeveloped.
“We were told that the only way to repair this condition was
with a series of three surgeries soon after Cooper was born, up to age 3,” says
Lindsay. “We were sent to C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor to tour
the hospital and meet the surgeon. It was really nice to be able to do that
ahead of time, and to have that time to get prepared.”
The Tawodas’ physicians in Kalamazoo, Dr. Robert Austin at
Bronson Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Dr. James Loker, cardiologist at Bronson
Pediatric Cardiology, cared for them until it would be time to check in at the
Ann Arbor hospital. They were able to prepare their daughter Izzy, 3 years old
when her baby brother was born, for the family’s time away from home.
Lindsay was scheduled for a C-section when it was time for
Cooper to be born.
“He was born weighing 9 pounds, a good size for surgery, and
as soon as he was born, they whisked him away,” Lindsay recalls.
It was another eight hours before mother could hold her
child, and the moment was emotional. “He looked normal, maybe just a slight
blue color to him.”
The first of three surgeries was performed when Cooper was
three days old, placing a shunt into his heart to maintain blood flow, a
four-hour procedure. Five months later, the second surgery was done, and the
third will be performed on Cooper when he reaches his third birthday.
"His lung collapsed in both surgeries," says Lindsay. "But he ..."
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