What Your Gift Can Do

Daniel Brown

Baby Daniel Brown came into the world just before Thanksgiving, under the most distressing of circumstances.

Shortly after they delivered him, doctors diagnosed Daniel with pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum, a rare heart defect where no pulmonary valve exists, so blood can't flow from the heart’s right ventricle into the pulmonary artery and on to the lungs. It is a life-threatening condition that requires immediate intervention.

At the same time, Daniel’s mother was making a heart-wrenching decision. Young, unwed and alone, she would give her baby up for adoption, hoping he would grow up with parents who could give him a brighter future than she felt she could.

Daniel needed two miracles. Within a week, he received both of them.

He was transferred to the Children’s Heart Center at Children’s Hospital of New Jersey (CHNJ), where at just 7 days old he underwent a groundbreaking hybrid transcatheter and surgical procedure to repair his heart defect. It was the first time a procedure of this kind was performed in New Jersey.

Daniel was also placed in the care Art and Sharon Snow, pastors of Chestnut Street Community Church in Roselle. The Snows are close friends of Daniel’s mother, and responded immediately to her request for help by serving as his guardians and helping to coordinate his treatment.

New Procedure Minimizes Risk
In order for the blood to flow to Daniel’s lungs, he would need a series of operations and procedures. During the traditional procedure, Daniel would be on a heart-lung machine, his heart would be stopped, and the doctor would make an incision across his heart muscle and valve.

Daniel’s doctor, Joel Hardin, MD, Director of Cardiology at CHNJ, said, “If we can operate without stopping the heart, it will help to reduce many risks associated with more traditional heart surgery, including early risks of heart failure after surgery and potential risks to later neurological development,” he said.

The CHNJ team of pediatric interventional cardiologists and cardiac surgeons performed the new hybrid procedure on Daniel without using cardiopulmonary bypass to stop his heart. They were able to open his pulmonary valve and place a shunt, in order to provide an extra source of blood flow to his lungs.

“Our ultimate goal is to establish normal blood flow through the right heart chambers to Daniel’s lungs with catheter-based treatment only as he grows older. “Dr. Hardin said.

A mended heart and a new home
At three weeks of age, Daniel went home for the holidays! He was discharged on Dec. 14, 2006. Doctors were pleased with Daniel’s progress during his first follow-up visit, and the next step in his treatment will be a routine catheterization procedure to further open his pulmonary valve.

While the CHNJ doctors repaired Daniel’s heart, the Snows were on another mission: finding him an adoptive family.

“We both knew who his parents should be,” says Sharon. For 14 years, a childless couple in their congregation had waited for a baby. The Snows approached them about the possibility of adopting Daniel, explaining his heart condition and treatment, then gave them time to think about it. A week went by and the couple came back to the Snows, saying their decision was yes. The adoption is now in its final stages.

“Daniel is a wonderful little boy,” says Sharon. “This little guy is here for a reason, and he needs to be raised by this couple. He’ll end up being a great man of God. I really believe that.”

She praises the entire cardiac team at CHNJ. “We treat Daniel like he is one of our own, and we knew he was in the most capable hands at Children’s Hospital of New Jersey.”

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