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A Feeble Heart, but a Sturdy Partner
Eric and Hope Davis with son E.J., 2, who needed heart surgery shortly after birth.
(By Alice Reid For The Washington Post)
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By the time of E.J.'s third surgery the following February, when doctors replaced the faulty mitral valve with an artificial one, "it had plunged to about 50-50," Eric said.
E.J. went home from his third stay at Children's on his first birthday.
At that point, he faced more challenges. As a child who spent most of his first 12 months fighting for life, he'd never picked up a block, never crawled.
Pediatric occupational therapists took over, and he raced through the developmental stages.
Today, E.J. faces a lifetime on blood thinners, and Hope faces the worry that the medication might cause internal bleeding in the rough and tumble of boyhood.
"He's pretty rambunctious," she said. "And he's going to have to live his life. I want it to be as much like any typical child's as possible."
E.J. looked up from his coloring book, waved a crayon and demanded that Mom stop talking to a reporter. "Mama color, too!" he insisted.
E.J. probably hasn't seen the last of Children's Hospital. Doctors have told the Davises that he'll face at least one more surgery to replace his artificial mitral valve with a larger one as he grows.
"We're so blessed that we live in an area with access to Children's Hospital," Hope said.
How to Help
To donate, send a check or money order payable to Children's Hospital to Washington Post Campaign, P.O. Box 17390, Baltimore, Md. 21297-1390. That's the post office box of our bank. All funds go to Children's Hospital in Washington.
To contribute by phone using Visa or MasterCard, call 202-334-5100 and follow the instructions.
All gifts are tax-deductible as allowed by law and will support the hospital's policy of providing treatment for all, regardless of ability to pay. We hope to raise $500,000 by Jan. 18.
Comments or questions?reida@washpost.com
