Here is Mason's story:
Mason was born on November 12,2012 to Robert and Stephanie
Moyer of Milton. He was born with a heart condition called Tetrology of
Fallot. Mason had his first open heart
surgery on February 7, 2013. He was unable to come off of heart/lung bypass and
was placed on ECMO (Extracorpreal Membrane Oxygenation). This machine allows
for the heart and lungs to rest while healing from open heart surgery. On the Monday after his surgery, he was
diagnosed with a pneumothorax and had a bronchoscopy performed. During this
bronchoscopy, an air bubble was introduced into the ECMO machine; shut the
machine down and Mason went into cardiac arrest. During this time Mason
sustained a traumatic brain injury which would lead to a seizure disorder.
Mason was transferred to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and was taken off
of paralytic and sedation. This was when it was noticed that he was beginning
to have seizures. He would be placed on an IV drug that helps with the pumping
of the heart called Milrinone. He would
remain on this IV drug until the middle of April 2013. He would then have
medication adjustments so that he would be able to live at home with the help
of in home nursing. Mason has had recurrent hospital admissions for digoxin
toxicity, the common flu, gastrostomy tube placements, and seizures. We visit
the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia monthly/bimonthly to follow up on
Mason’s care.
During Mason’s hospitalization after his surgery, Mason’s
mother Stephanie’s position at her job was terminated leaving their family with
only one income from Robert, Mason’s dad.
Mason’s mother would continue to earn her bachelor’s degree in Technical
Management with the Healthcare emphasis and would take on a job as a waitress
at night to help out a little bit. In September of 2014, Mason’s dad Robert
suffered from a heart attack while mowing their grass in their back yard. He
had a 90% blockage in his right coronary artery. Before his heart attack he
lived a healthy lifestyle and would be very active. His doctors contributed his
heart attack to genetics and stress. He would still return to work 2 weeks
after his stent placement because he knew that the family depended on his
income to support them.
Mason has a twin sister, McKenna , who is absolutely healthy
and tries to help her Mommy , Daddy and Mason’s nurses as much as possible.
Mason has a good example of helping with milestones when it comes time to
McKenna.
Mason currently is taking Physical therapy two times a week,
speech therapy once a week (Mason is nonverbal due to brain injury), and
occupational therapy once a week. He will start working with a medically needy
head start program in the fall.
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