Meet Watson, who dances through life and defies expectations
Born at just 25 weeks, weighing less than a pound, Watson has overcome every obstacle with strength, courage and a contagious smile.
Every morning, Lacey helps her 8-year-old daughter Watson with an hour-long breathing treatment. When Watson’s family realized she could breathe much more easily in the salty sea air in California, they stayed there for six months. And when they learned about a special camp that helps kids learn to chew and swallow, they were quick to sign Watson up.
Like many families, Watson’s will go anywhere and do anything to help her thrive. And when it comes to her ongoing care, they choose Children’s Health℠.
World-class care from a team we trust — words can’t describe what that means to us. Children’s Health has truly saved Watson’s life so many times. Having them in our backyard is a huge relief.
— Lacey, Watson's mom
The first time was just months after Watson was born.
‘The smallest baby’
Lacey checked into a nearby hospital at 25 weeks pregnant, planning to be there for at least a month or two. She’d been diagnosed with a condition called intrauterine growth restriction and needed to be on bed rest in a hospital. The next morning, she woke up feeling awful.
Physicians diagnosed her with a rare, life-threatening pregnancy complication called HELLP syndrome. She needed to deliver her baby — immediately.
“I asked for a second opinion, and they said there was no time,” Lacey said. “Watson was born weighing less than a pound. They told us that she was the smallest baby to be born at that hospital and survive.”
Shortly after, physicians rushed Watson to the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
The weeks and months that followed were a whirlwind of diagnoses and procedures. First and foremost, they needed to keep Watson’s tiny lungs working, so they connected her to a ventilator to help her breathe.
She also received treatment for severe acid reflux and then surgery for patent ductus arteriosus, which occurs when a blood vessel that's supposed to close on its own after birth remains open.
Watson spent six months at the NICU. And during that time, her family started to wrap their heads around how being born so early, with her heart and lungs not fully developed, would impact the rest of her life.
“Coming out of the NICU was just the beginning,” Lacey said.
Watson and her family’s safe place
Day by day, Watson grew to be a gregarious and outgoing kid who loves dancing and music. But there were many health challenges along the way. She enrolled in the local Pre-K, but she often got sick, so her parents opted for homeschooling instead. Sometimes her colds turned into severe pneumonia, leaving Watson struggling to breathe.
She’d turn blue and we’d call 911 and tell them, ‘Take us to Children's Health.’ They even flew us to the hospital once. Those were the moments when Children's Health became our safe place. We knew if we could get her there, they could get her stable and back on track.
— Lacey, Watson's mom
Watson’s health problems were related to pulmonary valve stenosis, a condition where an important valve in the heart doesn’t form properly in the womb. Many kids get better with a procedure that inflates a balloon-like tool to open up the airways. That procedure gave Watson temporary relief, but she needed a longer-term solution. So, at age 4, Watson bravely went into open heart surgery.
The results were life-changing.
“She was a different kid; she had so much more stamina and was much more able to fight off infections,” Lacey said. “The day after open heart surgery, she just popped up and said, ‘Mom, can we walk around?’”
During long days in the hospital, Watson's family looked forward to one thing: music therapy.
“The music therapist would play classical music and we could literally see Watson’s heart rate slow down on the machines,” Lacey said.
Incredible moments like these at Children’s Health are made possible by philanthropic funds working hard behind the scenes. Whether powering our people and programs, both inside the hospital and within our communities, or furthering our ability to make breakthroughs happen, these extraordinary stories would not be possible without our donors’ generous support.
Overcoming the things that hold her back
At age 6, Watson still needed oxygen around the clock. But that changed on a trip to California, where she was breathing so well that her care team said it was okay to slowly wean her off oxygen during the day. Now, she only uses oxygen to help her breathe at night.
At age 8, Watson had vocal cord surgery to help her speak louder. She’s been eating through a tube for her entire life, and this surgery also opened up the possibility of learning to chew and swallow.
“She’d never felt hunger, and when you don’t learn how to chew and swallow as a baby, it's a hard skill to learn,” Lacey said. “So, we took her to a special camp in Austria that teaches these skills. And we were really excited on the fifth night when she said, ‘I’m hungry and I want 100 bites of cream cheese.’”
These days she eats both orally and through a feeding tube. Cream cheese is still her favorite, and she likes salmon too.
“I pray every night for God to help Watson break every chain; to help her overcome the things that hold her back,” Lacey said. “We hope she won’t be limited and can be independent and have a good quality of life. We hope that she does it all and brings hope and light to others.”
Defying expectations
Now 9, Watson is exploring all that life has to offer, from singing and playing guitar to drama and dance classes. Despite all the procedures and hours spent at the hospital, she’ll still sometimes playfully pick up her doctor’s kit and say, “Mom! I’m a doctor from Children’s Health and it’s time for your checkup!”
“She has this contagious light; she’s constantly defying our expectations,” Lacey said. “As a parent, it’s easy for the weight of it all to get you down. But then she’ll just look at me and say, ‘We got this mom.’”
Her family knows Watson will need care for the rest of her life, which is why they’re grateful that Children’s Health is building a new Dallas pediatric campus with even more capabilities.
The new campus, a joint investment with UT Southwestern Medical Center, will further the ability for Children’s Health to pioneer innovative, academic research and lifesaving technology and treatments to care for the region’s — and the nation’s — most complex pediatric patients.
Lacey’s biggest hope is that the expansion, along with its donors’ generous support, will allow Children’s Health to continue bringing the latest in care to more children for generations to come.
When my husband and I learned about the new campus, we got chills. We thought about how many more families would not have to travel for care. That’s life changing. The better services we have, the more research we can fund, the more technology we can bring to the hospital — the more kids who can have a faster recovery and a better quality of life.
— Lacey, Watson's mom
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