The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Marc Jackson Snow Lake Writer To look at him, Brayden Jacob Tower seems like any other baby; all smiles and chubby cheeks. He acts like any other baby as well; he loves bath time, idolizes his older siblings, and has his favourites when it comes to toys. However, unlike other babies, Brayden gets tired quickly, his breathing often becomes laboured, and at times he has to stop playing and just sit or lie down where he is. Brayden turns one year old on April 29 and he has been diagnosed with congenital heart disease and congestive heart failure. His diagnosis also includes coarctation of the aorta (a narrowing of the major artery leading out of the heart), and a defective mitral valve (the valve between the left atrium and the left ventricle of the heart). This seriously ill, but wonderfully, happy and well-adjusted little boy is the son of Chelsea Miller and Darcy Tower. As a couple, and as a family, they are about to embark on the unknown in a quest to have Brayden's health problems dealt with. But they are not aloneÉ the entire community of Snow Lake is behind them. Right from birth, Miller and Tower noticed Brayden's breathing was extremely hurried and shallow, as well his heartbeat was rapid and quite noticeable to sight and touch. Cold symptoms The couple had taken him in to the local health centre a few times over the first six months of his life, but it was presumed that his symptoms were due to a cold that he was sick with at the time. Nevertheless, after he'd been sick for five weeks, his mother took him in to see a doctor in late January. The doctor ordered x-rays and noticed right away that something was askew. "His heart looked enlarged, so they ordered an EKG and then a Holter Monitor, while we waited for an appointment with the pediatric cardiologist in Winnipeg," explained Miller. "An echocardiogram at the Variety Children's Centre on March 21 confirmed the defects." 8/1000 births The reported incidence of congenital heart disease is eight cases per 1,000 live births. Not all congenital heart defects require surgery; some don't even require medication. Brayden's will require both. As a result, on April 27 Brayden is scheduled for a heart catheterization at Winnipeg's Health Sciences Centre. His mom advises that this will show the cardiologist exactly how bad each defect is, in addition to how they are affecting his heart, other organs and the rest of his body. "They will send these results to another consulting cardiologist in Edmonton and decide on their best course of action in relation to when and where surgery will take place," said Miller. The surgery itself will either take place in Edmonton, or Vancouver. At this point, Brayden's parents are unsure until after his next appointment. As well, they are uncertain in respect to how many surgeries their baby boy will need. The couple hope the first surgery on the aorta will allow Brayden's mitral valve to start working more efficiently; this will prolong the need for the second surgery on the valve, and allow him to grow first. "If the mitral valve ends up needing a replacement while he is this young, then he will need more surgeries as he grows bigger," Brayden's mother said. "We are hopeful that he will need the minimum amount of surgery with the best results." As their baby goes through the many consults and surgeries, there will be costs involved. They will no doubt be vast and frequent. Grateful Nonetheless, when asked about it, Miller was grateful that flights to and from the surgery are covered, as well as accommodations at a Ronald McDonald House wherever the surgery is performed. In respect to other trips, the NOR-MAN Regional Health Authority will reimburse a small portion of their gas to Winnipeg, and one meal per day. However, that seems minimal once the costs of lost wages, travelling with an infant, and being away from their family (the couple have three other children at home) are factored in. "I gave up my job at the bank as soon as we found out what we were dealing with," said Miller of the changes their life has gone through. "This is so that I can be at home with him to monitor changes and be available for all doctor's appointments, both here and in the city." See '?...' on pg. 12 Continued from pg. 9 Tower, an HBMS employee, has some holidays left, but these will be used strategically for the baby's appointments in the city. Each appointment will likely eat up a full week of time. After his holidays are gone, he will take leave without pay for other appointments and during surgeries. Time off for each of these could range from two to four weeks, possibly more. The couple say that they have been absolutely overwhelmed with the support they have received from their friends, family, and a variety of organizations within Snow Lake. No idea "We have no idea how long this is going to take," said Miller. "Our doctor in Winnipeg told us to prepare to be 'frequent flyers to Winnipeg' from now on, as he will need quite a bit of monitoring and testing at least for this first year. This support has helped take a little bit of a burden off of our shoulders right now, so we can focus on our boy." In regard to that support, friend Lynn Smith says that she and husband Dave got a call about what Miller and Tower were facing. As a result, they got together as a group and came up with some ideas on how to help out their friends. "No one even questioned it," said Smith. "They are our friends and they need some help. Not once did they ask us to do it, or say that they needed it. This is just something that Snow Lakers do for each other." The group will hold a fundraising social on May 7. Everything from the music to the cost of the liquor license for the social has been donated. In addition to this, there will be several big-ticket items raffled off at the dance, as well as a penny parade of other items Ð all donated. Additionally, there is a 50/50 draw going on in conjunction with the social, and the local Legion is holding a meat draw on April 23, with all proceeds going to the couple. In response to all this and to the situation that they find themselves in, Miller says that the reality of it all is still sinking in. "Looking at this happy, funny, beautiful, little guy makes it hard for us to wrap our heads around the fact that he has all these problems going on... you would never know it by looking at him," she said. "We aren't looking for sympathy, and we definitely didn't expect anything to be done for us like what is going on right now around town, but we appreciate it more than anyone can know." My Take on Snow Lake runs Fridays.
