Mason's Story: Our Heart Transplant Warrior
There doesn’t seem like enough words to express how thankful we are for everything you have done for our family.
Our journey began at our 20 week ultrasound in January, 2017. We learned our baby Mason had a rare congenital heart disease known as CCTGA, congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries. The future for him looked so easy — as easy as heart disease comes. He was born perfectly healthy, with no signs of distress.
At about a month old, things began declining slowing. At 3 ½ months old Mason and our family traveled to Boston Children’s for his first open heart surgery. Thirty days later we returned back to Virginia to find he was in heart failure. After months of trying to control it, he showed no improvement. That was when we faced our only option — to list him for transplant.
We felt so scared, but after asking our doctor to give him life and he led us here, we knew it had to be done.
August 30, 2018 we went for Mason’s G-tube surgery. It was that admission we realized he was in complete heart block. About a week and a half after discharge we came back in due to issues with his G-tube. That’s when we realized that this was “the admission,” the one that kept us in until Mason got a new heart.
On October 21, 2018 Mason received the greatest gift of all, his perfect donor heart. During our admission my husband and I took shifts. I spent the week in the hospital with Mason, while my husband worked and cared for our two girls. The weekends he took hospital shifts while I spent needed time with our girls.
For those couple of months it felt so hectic and we all felt so spread apart.
It wasn’t until coming to The Alyssa House that our family felt whole again. The Alyssa House felt so warm and welcoming, and was the best recovery regimen our entire family needed.
We have spent more time bonding and enjoying as a whole family than it feels like we ever had before.
It’s been a true blessing to have a place to call home through our post transplant care. It was an honor to stay here, to learn about Alyssa, and partake in the house lighting. The generosity of everyone with The Alyssa House is beyond words. We feel honored and blessed to make this house our home for a short while.
It is with sincere gratitude and appreciate that we thank you. It’s hard to leave the place that gave me comfort during an anxious time, but I hope it helps the next family as much as us.
Sincerely,
Tiffany, Dustin, Arianna, Audrey & Mason Haislip
More about Mason and his incredible journey at www.Facebook.com/MasonStrong2017