Austin’s Heart

Baby Austin Ball

MEET AUSTIN

At 28 weeks gestation a huge tumor was found in Austin’s heart. It is called a left ventricular mass. The mass impedes blood flow to the body and causes arrhythmias. An arrhythmia can be life threatening and fatal.

Up to this point, Austin was a very happy, talkative and social baby leading a normal childhood with the help of three medications and frequent visits to the Cardiologist.

On Sept. 21, 2008 he went to the hospital for a routine Cardiac Cauterization procedure and never left. After the procedure Austin was not the same. He lost his appetite and became very weak.

On October 1, 2008 Austin went into Cardiac Arrest at Childrens Hospital, Washington, DC. He coded and CPR was performed for 90 minutes. His heartbeat was very faint like a quiver. He could only be sustained by a life saving machine called ECMO. ECMO is a heart/lung bypass machine, which basically did the work of Austin’s heart because he was unable. While on the machine he was medically paralyzed and sedated with medications and also placed on ice to preserve all other body organs. He was transferred to the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh on ECMO via helicopter where he awaited a heart transplant.

Austin underwent his first open heart surgery on October 7, 2008 in which the tumor (fibromyoma) was removed and he was placed on the Berlin Heart.

The culprit, a benign tumor the size of an orange that was slowly killing Baby Austin.

The slits are the sections that were cut for the biopsy.

The organs to the left are normal organs of a baby Austin’s age.

The tumor that was inside Austin’s heart.

A normal heart

The Berlin Heart is an assistive heart device in which he can be awake and moving. It replaced the ECMO device so he would not have to be sedated the entire time. The surgeon felt after surgery a heart transplant was his only hope of survival.

Well a few days passed and GOD interceded. Austin’s heart function improved a great deal. His heart was now competing against the assistive heart. He underwent his second heart surgery to make the patched area smaller in hopes to improve heart function. The surgery was a success.

Austin underwent his third heart surgery on October 16th during which the Berlin Heart was removed, so doctors could assess his own heart function and possibly avoid doing a heart transplant.

The Berlin Heart

The Berlin Heart has not been FDA approved and there have only been 20 Berlin Hearts installed in

this country and Austin is one of them.

Austin was 4

months old when he went into the hospital and has been in

the hospital

for months

and months. He is now 9 months

old.

He has watched holidays come and go.

Halloween he was the “Incredible Austin”.

Shortly after this warm day out in the hospital’s courtyard in January,

Austin suffered an aneurism and had to have

emergency surgery.

Yet, he continues to remain a strong, stoic little man.

God must have great things in store for him.

Austin’s Mom, Cher, and Sister, Symone.

Hats off to Cher who has put her life on hold to be with Austin throughout his ordeal.

Austin is wearing his “Beads of Courage” given to him by the hospital staff. He received one bead for every needle, IV, and surgery he has had to go through in the past 5 months. Could you do it?

Austin is improving and getting stronger everyday, but still has a few more months of rehabilitation to go through before he can come home.

Please keep Austin in your prayers and help him and his family with the financial crisis they face. Remember that the most important thing here is Austin. Bills come and go, but a life is more precious than anything.

God has great things in store for Austin—who knows, with a will that strong we may be looking at the next President of the United States.

Austin and his “Beads of Courage”