Most moms would agree that pregnancy and labor can be incredibly frightening, with the main hope being for a healthy baby, crying and kicking. But one mother faced the unimaginable when her baby boy was born with severe medical issues that left him dependent on a ventilator.
Lisa Hough shared a photo of her precious grandson, born to her daughter Chelsea, and revealed the heart-wrenching decision her daughter had to make. As a mother of three and grandmother of two, Lisa shared that her grandson, Karson, was born with numerous medical complications.
“Nana’s little angel baby 💙” she posted on February 10, 2022.
“The only way to describe what has happened is that this beautiful baby boy has suffered two very rare traumatic conditions that are completely unrelated to one another,” Nana Lisa shared on her Facebook page.
She explained that her newborn grandson had suffered a “hemorrhage in the left temporal lobe” and had also been diagnosed with a rare genetic metabolic disorder called Non-ketotic hyperglycinemia (NKH).
“His case is severe and would leave him severely neurologically impaired, functioning at a 2-3 month-old level at best for his lifetime,” Lisa wrote.
Given the medical information presented, Karson’s mother made the agonizing decision to remove him from life support.
Lisa described the heartbreaking moment they had to say goodbye to their sweet boy.
“While we weren’t ready to say goodbye to Karson, we had come to terms with the inevitable. We were given 10 minutes after withdrawing intensive care and the ventilator, told he would not breathe on his own, and that his heart would likely stop within those 10 minutes.”
But then, as Lisa shared, it seemed “God had other plans,” and she and her daughter witnessed a miracle.
“He immediately started breathing on his own once the ventilator was removed, his heart rate and oxygen stabilized, and here we are five hours later with this miracle baby that we were told would never breathe, swallow, have gag reflexes, or even survive. He is breathing unassisted.
“He is swallowing. He is surviving. He even slightly opened his eyes a couple of times today.”
She said that the doctors had no explanation for what happened, as no medical or scientific data supports this little fighter’s survival; the only explanation they offered was that it was a miracle.
“I’m not sure why I ever thought we were undeserving of a miracle, and I’m not sure how long we have with him, but we have him now. And now we will take,” Lisa wrote.
On March 1, she and her family received the joyful news that their tiny miracle would be coming home that week.
“Every day, I am brought to my knees, and just when I think God is done, I am quickly reminded that He isn’t… I have no words for my gratitude, and I will praise Him for as long as I have air in my lungs for giving Karson his,” Lisa wrote.
From her first post, the community rallied around Lisa and her family, celebrating Karson’s survival with over 30,000 reactions to the announcement that he had survived and was thriving.
“Karson Jax: This day last year turned my whole world upside down. This day last year, everything I thought I knew and…”