Baby gets a new heart

[knoxmom]

Could you imagine having a baby and worrying that they're going to survive every day? This is amazing news, read on...

Nine weeks after his birth and one week after being put on a transplant list, Carter Hixon has a new heart beating in his tiny breast.

Carter received his new heart in Nashville on Thursday.

Doctors knew he had a heart problem when he was born but initially thought he would just grow out of it, said Susan Hixon, Carter's mother.

"It's been like a roller coaster," Hixon said. "When he was first born, we were scared because he had a heart problem. The doctor thought he would outgrow it, but it kept getting worse."

Carter was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a rare disorder in which the heart muscles become abnormally thick. This makes it difficult for blood to get through the heart to the rest of the body.

"He started not taking a bottle because he would wear out before he finished," Hixon said. "He started losing weight so we took him back to the doctor. They put him back in the hospital, and he was on a feeding tube from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. We would feed him on a bottle during the day, but he gradually took less and less."

The Hixons, who are from Rutledge, took Carter to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville for tests, which revealed that he would need a heart transplant.

"The doctors did not have any medications to shrink the muscle," Hixon said. "They couldn't do surgery to take away some of the muscle. All they could do was give him medication that slowed his heart rate down so his heart would have more time to fill with blood. But the muscles were getting stiffer and thicker everyday."

Carter was put on the heart transplant list, although doctors told his mom the average wait was six weeks.

"As fast as it was progressing, the doctors said he had a greater risk of dying before surgery than after," Hixon said. "Then he was moved up to 1A, the highest on the list. The doctors really couldn't tell how long he had."

Exactly one week after being placed on the transplant list, Travis Hixon, Carter's father, received a phone call at 1:45 a.m. Carter was going to get a new heart.

"We were asleep," Susan Hixon said. "My husband answered and I heard him say, 'Oh, yes,' and I knew what it was. I was shocked that we got a heart that fast. After Travis got off the phone with the doctor, he couldn't remember anything she said except she had a heart for Carter. I had to call her back to find out when to bring Carter in for surgery."

The next day, Thursday, Carter went in to surgery to get his new heart at 11:45 a.m. The surgery was supposed to take 6-8 hours, but he was out by 4:30 p.m. On Friday he was taken off a ventilator.

The heart came from a 1-month-old girl. The Hixons can't contact the family of the baby but, if the other family chooses, they can arrange to meet the Hixons.

"We had a lot of mixed emotions," Susan Hixon said. "We were very excited and thrilled that we got a heart, but we were so sad about the little girl. I hate it that they had to lose their daughter, but I'm so thankful they gave us her heart so we could keep our son alive."

Depending on his progress, Carter will stay in the intensive care unit at Vanderbilt until doctors place him in a regular room, where he will stay for another one to two weeks, said Susan Hixon. The family - Travis, Susan and 12-year-old Kaylan - will stay in Nashville for six weeks after the surgery to keep Carter close to the doctors.

Friends and family of the Hixons have been very supportive.

"We've not had to worry about money so far," Susan Hixon said. "It's been amazing. We've been overwhelmed with how many friends and just good people are out there."

On Saturday Nov. 28, a benefit Turkey Shoot for Carter Hixon will take place in Rutledge 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at Jesse's Little Market on Owl Hollow Road.

Elizabeth Storey may be reached at 865-342-6336.

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[vegmom]

Such a happy and sad story :-(