By  Sarah Fedele

Laura and her husband, Wesley, did not have any idea anything was wrong throughout her entire pregnancy.

When the doctor examined their healthy looking 9.3 pound baby boy, he noticed a heart murmur and sent Gavin for an echocardiogram.  When the doctor returned, he told Laura and Wesley that Gavin had Tetralogy of Fallot, one of the most common forms of congenital heart disease.

Gavin had a hole between the lower chambers of his heart and a pulmonary valve that was not as wide as it should have been.  They were told that Gavin would need open heart surgery and were referred to Dr. Michael Walsh at Brenner Children’s Hospital, a part of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

One day later, Gavin was taken to the NICU to monitor his oxygen levels.  “They had to remove all his stuffed animals and tons of wires took their place,” remembers Laura.  “I was devastated and just heartbroken.”

Luckily, three days after Gavin was born, Laura and Wesley were able to take their baby boy home.

At six months old, they scheduled Gavin’s open heart surgery and Laura finished her last day at Primrose School of Kernersville.  “The night before Gavin’s surgery, I held him all night long” says Laura.  “He was such a happy, healthy baby on the outside, it was hard to accept that his heart was in such trouble.”

Dr. Ross Ungerleider of Brenner Children’s Hospital performed the surgery.  “Nurses called every 45 minutes to update us during the surgery,” remembers Laura.  “We were nervous every time we picked up the phone.”

The doctors had started Gavin’s heart back up again, but it was beating too hard.  They had to go back in again.  Dr. Walsh came out to the waiting room and pulled up a chair.  “My heart sank,” shares Laura.  “He told us they fixed Gavin’s heart issues, but that his heart was not restarting on its own and he had to be connected to a pacemaker.”

On day eight on the pacemaker, Gavin’s heart began to beat again all on its own.  “This was a life changing experience for all of us.  Now, if not for Gavin’s superhero scar, you would not know that he ever had any issues with his health at all,” says Laura.

“We call his open heart surgery scar his ‘superhero scar’ because we never want him to be ashamed of it,” shares Wesley.  “We want him to always feel proud of what he has lived through and how well he is doing now.”

A second surgery may be required in the future if any leaks occur.  For now, 3-year old Gavin does not have any physical restrictions and he visits his cardiologist once a year.  Laura went back to work at Childcare Network in Kernersville and Gavin got to business being a kid.  In Kernersville, Gavin has played t-ball with the Sandlot, soccer with the Kiddie Kickers, and did the Hoops Academy.  He loves playing swords with his dad and playing with his two sisters, Brianna and Hailey.

“We have seen some scary times, but are so glad to be in a good place right now,” shares Laura.  “I would love to tell other families dealing with congenital heart disease to not give up.”

Wesley and Laura have invited all of their friends and family to join them in helping to raise funds to help other families with heart issues.  They have formed “Team Gavin” for the American Heart Association’s Tanglewood Heart & Stroke Walk.  Sponsored locally by Wake Forest Baptist Health, the Tanglewood Heart & Stroke Walk includes one mile and four mile walks at Tanglewood Park on Saturday, October 17.

For more information on the Tanglewood Heart & Stroke Walk or to donate to “Team Gavin,” visit www.TanglewoodHeartWalk.org.