Amber never expected to have a tiny success story to tell. Her pregnancy was free of complications. Her delivery went smoothly. And her son Hayden was even born on his due date, a Friday, at a hospital near her home in Southern Indiana.

The first few hours of his life seemed quite normal. But by Sunday, the nurses caring for little Hayden noticed he was having trouble. They ran tests. And soon, this new mom learned that her son’s heart was enlarged, and his life was in danger.

Amber was given a choice of hospitals that would be better able to treat Hayden. On her doctor’s advice, Amber chose St.Vincent.

A St.Vincent echocardiogram revealed that Hayden’s heart was underdeveloped on the left side. The only hope to save his live was a series of operations at St.Vincent Children’s Hospital that would allow blood to bypass the left side of his heart, allowing the right to do all the work.  On the fourth day of his life, Hayden received open-heart surgery for the first time.

The procedure, like the two that followed, was a success.

Today, Hayden is fast approaching his 5th birthday, and you’re much more likely to find him playing in the backyard than spending time in the hospital. To his preschool classmates, he’s just one of the gang - although he’s happy to lift his shirt, show you his surgery scars, and happily proclaim, “My doctor fixed my heart.”

While Amber never anticipated getting to know the staff at St.Vincent Women’s Hospital, she trusted them with her baby, and when Hayden needed more care and treatment later on, the staff of St.Vincent Children’s Hospital was right there. “The nurses were great. They give 110%, all of them. I can’t say enough good things about them. They were so good.”

Even for moms that aren’t expecting complications, the promise of a complete continuum of care from St.Vincent Women’s Hospital to St.Vincent Children’s Hospital is a very comforting thing.