KCTV 5: Baby named Arrow may be good luck charm for Chiefs
By Abby Dodge
A few days after her son was born on Super Bowl Sunday, Ellen Gill learned he had a congenital heart defect.
“I saw his doctor walk into the room," Gill said. "I knew immediately it was much worse than we had thought.”
At just 8 months-old, doctors performed open heart surgery on her son. Even after surgery, his little heart couldn't take over.
Doctors put him on ECMO support, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support. Gill's son was able to recover and go home.
At a routine heart checkup, doctors saw his heart wasn't functioning like it should.
“Those moments are heartbreaking and really, really hard to bounce back from," Gill said. "But, overall, he has had so many more up days than down.”
Doctor's tried a diagnostic heart catheterization, but Gill's son continued to weaken. The pair spent six months in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Children's Mercy waiting on a heart.
See the full story via KCTV 5
Learn more about The Ward Family Heart Center at Children's Mercy
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