Mile 12

When Kaitlyn Higginbotham gave birth to her twin boys a month early, everything seemed fine at first. Greyson, the smaller of the two, was born with a heart murmur—but doctors assured Kaitlyn it wasn’t uncommon for the smaller twin to have minor issues that would likely resolve on their own. He and his brother were sent home, but just before Greyson turned two weeks old, Kaitlyn noticed troubling changes: he seemed too tired to eat, and his breathing looked more labored than his brother’s. Trusting her instincts, she took him to the ER—where tests revealed that Greyson’s heart murmur was far more serious than originally believed.​

​What was thought to be a small 3-millimeter hole in his heart was actually 9 millimeters, and Greyson’s condition deteriorated rapidly. Over four days at their local hospital, his respiratory distress worsened, and he began aspirating liquids. When his lungs collapsed, he was airlifted to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) at Manning Family Children’s. There, doctors discovered he had bacterial pneumonia, which had caused the collapse. At just two months old, Greyson underwent his first heart surgery to place a pulmonary artery band. He spent the next several months in the hospital, and in August of that year, Dr. Pettitt performed a full heart repair when Greyson was six months old. His recovery was nothing short of remarkable—his symptoms cleared up, and he began to thrive in ways his family had only hoped for.​

​Greyson spent a total of 188 days at Manning Family Children’s and was finally discharged at nearly seven months old, heading home with oxygen support and a resilient spirit. Today, aside from using an inhaler, Greyson is doing incredibly well. His family returns often to visit the CICU team who became like a second family during their long stay. Kaitlyn is forever grateful for the doctors and nurses who cared not just for Greyson, but for their entire family—especially when they celebrated his sister’s birthday during one of their most difficult days. “They didn’t just treat Greyson’s heart,” Kaitlyn said, “they treated all of ours.”