MILES FOR SMILES

Diagnosis: Congenital Heart Defects

Age at Diagnosis: 1 week old

Current Age: 21 months old

 

Laney's story:

 

On Monday, April 18, 2016, the Lyon family was completed by the arrival of Laney Serene Lyon.

 

Beautiful, healthy and calm, she came home from the hospital on Thursday and quickly settled into a routine. On the evening of Monday, April 25, Stephanie and Chris noticed Laney's feeding and breathing wasn’t quite right. After some deliberation, they headed to the new CHKD Urgent Care and arrived 4 minutes before they closed. They immediately rushed the family to the back to examine her; at that point, her color and breathing had changed drastically. Things escalated very quickly; Laney was in septic shock, was hypothermic and wasn't getting blood to the majority of her body. Urgent care called 911 and two EMT squads came immediately. Laney was then intubated by a brave paramedic; this call undoubtedly saved her life.

 

Laney was taken by ambulance to the CHKD ER in Norfolk, where she was somewhat stabilized before being transferred to the PICU. Early that morning, Stephanie and Chris were told that there were four main issues with Laney's heart: a hypoplastic aortic arch, a coarctation of the aorta, a VSD and an ASD.

 

On May 2, Laney entered surgery at CHKD with the expert care and skilled hands of Dr. Felix Tsai of CHKD and Dr. James Gangemi of UVA, Laney emerged in the late evening hours in stable condition after a successful surgery. Laney remained in the Pediatric Intensive Care at CHKD unit under the care of her surgeons, Pediatric Cardiologists, Intensive Care providers, and a team of skilled nurses and other medical providers. Laney remained in the hospital for another 14 days before returning home with her sisters, Holly and Tori.

 

Today, at 21-months-old, Laney is a happy and healthy baby. Her parents are extremely grateful and credit CHKD for saving their daughter’s life.