Logan Buckingham is a bright-eyed six month old whose smile can melt the hardest of hearts. Unfortunately, when Logan was born his heart was not as it should have been. He was a full-term baby who only weighed 5 lb 8 oz at birth. After a check of his sugar level, he was whisked off to the ICU. A frantic two hours without having her baby to hold ensued for his mom, Mercedes . Dr Fahey, a Pediatric Cardiologist at Yale New Haven Hospital informed Mercedes that Logan had a condition called called Tetralogy of Fallot, a rare, complex heart defect.
Logan would eat frantically because his defect caused his heart to race so quickly that it burned up the nutrients in record time – every form of energy was needed to keep up with his heart. Even though he ate an excessive amount of food, he did not gain weight. Mercedes was told that as he grew more active, the less oxygen he would have and when he was older he would be the sick boy on the bench, (if he made it past the age of 12).
The hope was that the hole would repair itself over time. Logan had thick tissue covering his heart which was protecting him, giving them the chance to wait and see. The hole did not repair itself and the Buckinghams consulted with Dr. Richard Kim, who is a Pediatric Thoracic Heart Surgeon. Dr. Kim examined Logan only to find another hole in his heart as well as a twisted heart valve. A decision was made that when Logan reached 13 lbs, he would need open heart surgery.
At 13.8 lbs, Logan was prepared for his surgery. Logan needed to be pried out of his mother’s arms and after pacing through the 3 ½ hour surgery, Mercedes and her family learned that the operation was a success. They repaired the holes in Logan’s heart (they actually found a third during the procedure) and decided to leave the valve as is. Within 12 hours, Logan was breathing on his own and drinking. Eating followed soon after that, and the Buckinghams were able to leave the hospital to stay at the Ronald McDonald House for his recuperation On Friday, August 21, Logan was given the green light to go home.
We will miss his smile, but know that the Buckinghams will keep in touch with his progress.
