Jan 26, 2024, 2:11:55 PM CST
Brantley
Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose: Brantley’s Journey to a New Heart
For children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), the road is always rocky. Brandi found out that her son, Brantley, had this congenital heart defect when she was only 16 weeks pregnant. She knew that he would face tough challenges. But she didn’t realize that together with the team at Children’s Health℠, Brantley would survive and thrive with a transplanted heart by the age of 7.
Groundbreaking Surgery for a Rare Condition
HLHS affects just over 1,000 babies born each year – their left ventricle is underdeveloped and doesn’t deliver enough oxygen-rich blood to the lungs. Brantley received care at a local hospital closer to his home for the first three years of life. But when he started experiencing plastic bronchitis, a condition where lymph fluid hardens in the airways, they were referred to Suren Reddy, M.D., at Children’s Health.
Dr. Reddy was on the cusp of a significant breakthrough in treatment for this condition, which makes it very hard to breathe. Brantley was one of his first patients to undergo transverse lymphatic intervention in 2018.
“Dr. Reddy came highly recommended by our cardiologist, and we decided to make the leap over to Children’s Health,” Brandi said. “We didn’t even have to go through the whole procedure – he was able to stop the drainage, and Brantley was able to heal.”
Although the surgery was life-changing for Brantley, it was always a band aid to a more significant problem – his faulty heart. The team at Children’s Health was able to care for Brantley when he had subsequent flare-ups of plastic bronchitis, but in 2022, it was clear that the only real solution was to find a new heart for a little boy who yearned to live the life of a 7-year-old.
Dr. Reddy told Brandi and her husband, Blake, that it was time to place Brantley on the transplant list.
A New Heart – And A New Lease on Life
While Brandi battled their insurance company for approval of a heart transplant, the Child Life team at Children’s Health was busy keeping Brantley’s spirits up. After being admitted with complete heart failure, he was confined to the hospital until a heart could be found. They were prepared for a long wait.
But a Christmas miracle occurred – mere weeks after getting approved, Brandi got the call they had prayed for. Children’s Health had a heart for Brantley. Brandi interrupted a volcano project that Brantley was working on with another transplant patient to give him the good news.
“Mom and Dad came in and said, ‘Brantley, we need to go to your room right now.’ And then they told me that I had a new heart, and I screamed bloody murder,” Brantley recounted with a boyish cackle.
By January 14, 2023, Brantley had undergone successful heart transplant surgery. By February 6, he was cleared to go home. While he is still on routine medications, his visits to Children’s Health are now just regular check-ins.
Child Life–Brantley’s Lifeline During Challenges
Brandi and Brantley rattle off the names of staff members like old friends. Indeed, that’s what they have become. Brandi cites Child Life as the light that kept Brantley going when things seemed dark. And, that Bailey, his Child Life coordinator, was instrumental in keeping Brantley’s spirits up, providing sand art, music therapy and other activities.
She and the Child Life team even arranged for extra special visitors to visit Brantley while he was in isolation – six players from the Dallas Mavericks.
“He had a basketball hoop in his room since he couldn’t leave when he was in isolation. Josh Green and two other Mavericks players gowned up to see him. He took a few shots and finally made a basket on the seventh try. The whole room erupted. Brantley was so excited,” Brandi said. “That’s something that Brantley will never forget, and it would never have happened if we weren’t at Children’s Health. It meant a lot to Brantley and to us.”
Brandi says that this dedication to uplifting patients and families is the hallmark of Children’s Health. It’s also why Brandi and her family are dedicated to raising funds to support Children’s Health.
Brantley’s birthdays and holidays are their favorite time to ask friends and supporters to give a little back to the hospital that gave their son his heart.
“That's the key to happiness. There's only so much money in the world, and there's only so much that the hospital alone can do. Without donors of all shapes and sizes and amounts, none of it would be possible,” Brandi said. “It starts with just $1. Brantley has reaped so many benefits from Child Life, from Play-Doh to Legos. It’s nice to give back.”
Today, you can find Brantley, but you likely won’t be able to catch him. You see, he’s busy training for his first full season of motocross and flag football. In his slower moments, he practices his sports commentating skills while playing video games and continually laughs with the vigor only a 7-year-old boy can manage.
Without the expertise and support of the physicians and support staff at Children’s Health, the outcome of his story would be very different. As Brandi and Brantley prepare for the next phase of life, the staff of Children’s Health will be there, ready to check in and see how far he will go.
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