Keaton's story

It was during a level 2 ultrasound – a more detailed sonogram of their baby – that Keaton's parents learned there was something wrong with his heart. After continuously scanning over the baby’s heart region, the technician informed the couple that the left side of his heart was smaller than the right.

His condition – having a hypoplastic heart defect –  meant Keaton would need surgery to repair his heart. The couple was referred to Dr. Michel Ilbawi, a pediatric cardiovascular surgeon at Advocate Children’s Hospital. The hospital has its own pediatric surgical heart unit specifically dedicated to post-surgical monitoring and recovery of its pediatric patients.

The months following this diagnosis were overwhelming as Keaton’s parents learned that there would be a trilogy of staged surgeries. Their scary thoughts about the disease were put at ease thanks to their perinatalogist, the surgeon and the cardiology team, who always sounded positive and certain of Keaton’s outcome.

It can be extremely overwhelming when being told that your baby is going to need heart surgery days after being born and that you might not be able to hold him for a month. Keaton’s parents were dedicated to learning as much as they could about the procedures he would undergo and the medications he would be taking as well as how to take vitals. And when Keaton was born, they were comforted by the compassionate care he received from the physicians and nurses on his care team.