Meet Mason

Today I want to share with you another one of our brave (and extremely adorable) heart friends who lives half way across the country in South Carolina...Mason!  I had been following Mason't journey through his mom Neysa's blog and was so happy when she reached out to me last year regarding an idea she had for Mr. Mason's 1st birthday.  Much like the idea that sparked Books for Charley in the first place, Neysa had the idea to request books in lieu of birthday gifts for their little man.  I was blown away - such an incredible gesture from a woman that I had never officially "met" before.  When it was all said and done, they ended up collecting over 50 books for us to add to our donation!  Awesome. Awesome. Awesome.

Here's a bit more about our little buddy Mason....

Mason, aka “monkey” and/or “nugget” is my special-heart baby. 

Mason was born on September 1, 2010 with Tetralogy of Fallot (combination of four heart defects) and surprised everyone by also having a rare disorder called Pentalogy of Cantrell, which involved part of his heart growing through his diaphragm, stomach, and being exposed outside of his body when he was born. Despite the grim diagnosis that Pentalogy of Cantrell can carry, Mason did great and was out of the NICU in 7 days!  He proved everyone wrong by breast feeding and gaining weight like a champ.

Other than having to stay in complete isolation while waiting for his first open heart surgery,  you really wouldn’t have known that Mason was any different than any other healthy baby. However, when Mason was 3.5 months old, he crashed.  It was unexpected and you can read about the day in detail on my blog under “About Mason”.  A real miracle happened that day.  It’s an amazing story that I hold close to my heart. 

Mason ended up having emergency open heart surgery in the middle of the night on December 9^th, 2010.  He suffered a stroke and had many obstacles during recovery.  After we returned home fourteen days later, life was not the same.  There were brand new struggles with feeding, sleeping, and with Mason’s mental and physical health.  We knew that he would still need another surgery for his full “repair” (I hate that word… it’s misleading when dealing with heart surgery.)  Mason underwent his second open heart surgery on September 19^th, 2011, just a couple of weeks after his first birthday. 

Today, Mason is thriving.  He is a 19 month old comedian.  I do not take one second with him for granted.  For that, I am thankful for our journey.   However, stories like Charlotte's are too common in the “heart world”.  Charlotte’s passing shook me to my soul.  I grieved for Kristen.  We have never met, but Charlotte lives in my heart.  There is something that shines through Charley’s eyes in each and every photo I see of her.  She passes through my thoughts daily.  I still grab a tissue and a private place to read each and every one of Kristen’s blogs. 

Our family is beyond honored to participate in Books For Charley!  I am so proud to be able to deliver books with Charley’s sticker on them to MUSC (Medical University of South Carolina) in Charleston where Mason had his two open heart surgeries. 

For more on Mason’s Journey, visit www.preciousmason.blogspot.com.

Thank you so much, Neysa, for agreeing to help us grow our little Books for Charley adventure.  Mason has definitely earned the the title "Heart Warrior" and we are so blessed to have the opportunity to watch him beat CHD!  I hope those little kiddos at MUSC love their new books!