Heart Defects

Twenty-five years ago, Stephanie Beauclaire received the heart of a baboon at Loma Linda Hospital.  To the world, she was known as Baby Fae.  She was a HLHS baby whose mother had been told she could take her baby home to die or let her die  in a hospital.  Dr. Leonard Bailey performed the controversial and historic operation.  It was also courageous and led to heart transplants in babies and children.

I can remember when this event happened.  I can remember talking with an elderly aunt who thought this was something horrible to do.  I also remember my husband saying that he thought if it could save this baby's life, then they should do it. 

At the time of Baby Fae, my family did not know anything about heart defects in children and would not until 2001, when we learned our grandson had a heart defect.  Because Nick was 4 1/2 years old when a hole in his heart was found at our local hospital, I was surprised to see the sign on the wall that read "Congenital Heart Defects" when we first went to Texas Children's.  I thought, "They are sending us to the same place as they send those kids."    All the while, it had not hit that Nick was one of "those" kids.  That kind of shows how little information and awareness there is in the general public about heart defects.  I think the public also needs to understand that these are babies, children, and adults who, while they may have a heart defect that needs special care, are also like everyone else.  They want to laugh, play, live, love, dream, and grow old.  Thankfully, our children are given a better chance at doing that today because of the brave doctors, families, children, and angels who have led the way in the battle against heart defects. 

In memory of Baby Fae and all the other heart angels, and in honor of those who still battle in the world of CHD..............

                                  Cheri

                    go to Heart Defect Information   

                           go to Nicholas' Website

                      contact me - cherir1@peoplepc.com      

   

                                  

            

                           

                               

 

                                                

I very clearly remember Baby Fae's remarkable surgery. I was 15 at the time and I remember it being briefly discussed in health class (the impact of the heart defects themselves and the benefit of the transplant, but we steered clear of the ethical part of it). Back then, I probably would've laughed in the face of anyone who said I'd give birth to an HLHS baby, so unfortunately, I didn't really understand just how profound and important that surgery was back then; I just knew that it was important for the sake of history. I never dreamed it would ever have any sort of impact in *my* life.

My g-ma was still alive at the time of Baby Fae's surgery and I know that it made her uncomfortable to think of an animal's heart being put into a baby. But, I think again it comes down to this: You really don't know what you would or wouldn't do (or what you would find acceptable/wrong/etc.) until it's *your* child who needs that heart to live. So, I'm sure that if she had still been alive when Ryan was born, she most certainly would've wanted *anything* if it meant that her great-grandson lived.

Now, having been though what I have with my own heart baby, I have a new-found respect for everyone who was a part of that history-making procedure and the valiant effort that was put forth to save her. Without that, *all* HLHS babies would receive the same fatal prognosis that Stephanie's mother initially received.