A Chance to Grow Up and Change the World

Quincy was born five weeks early via emergency c-section when doctors couldn’t find his heartbeat.

He was born fine and didn’t need the neonatal intensive care unit or any specialized care. But, during his first year of life, Quincy was sick often and faced numerous cases of respiratory illnesses.

At his two-year check-up appointment, Quincy’s pediatrician listened to his heart for a few seconds and heard a murmur. Quincy was immediately referred to a cardiologist.

“I was in disbelief; I kept thinking there was no way it was his heart; how could it be his heart?” Kristina said. “A few days went by and we were lucky to end up with an appointment at The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio.”

At The Children’s Hospital, Dr. Krittika Joshi assessed Quincy and didn’t hear anything wrong initially, but ordered an echocardiogram. The results revealed Quincy had a few different heart defects, some extra parts, some missing parts, and he was going to need open heart surgery.

Quincy went into a seven-hour surgery one week later and had several repairs on his heart. Surgeons also found he had two superior vena cava veins. Most people only have one; it’s a major vein in the upper body that carries blood from your head, neck, upper chest, and arms to the heart. He also had four extra veins connecting to his lungs, and had one piece missing from the back wall of his heart. This meant blood was not circulating correctly, causing “bad blood” to enter his lungs. Surgeons rerouted the blood and patched the missing piece.

Quincy recovered in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) after surgery and was able to go home just a few days later.

“Quincy is undoubtedly the strongest human I’ve ever known. It felt like he was the mascot of the PICU at The Children’s Hospital,” Kristina remembers. “The environment and the caretakers made a very scary situation much more manageable. They did so many little things they didn’t have to do – even the smallest things made our lives just a little bit easier.”

Quincy returned to The Children’s Hospital for his four, eight, and 12-week follow-up appointments after surgery, and there were still a few areas of concern. In April 2022, Quincy suffered a seizure and doctors determined he needed surgery again.

“Doctors found that there was a blockage near one of the patches from his previous surgery,” Kristina said. “After a 3-hour exploratory surgery, they determined he would be a good candidate for a stent.”

Quincy underwent surgery again in May 2022 to have a stent inserted. The special stent is a brand that will grow with him. It will be expanded every 2-3 years until Quincy’s heart is at its full grown size, which will be when Quincy is about 18 years old.

“Quincy saw Dr. Joshi a couple weeks after surgery for an echocardiogram and check-up, and she was very pleased with how everything looked,” Kristina added. “For now, everything that needed to be fixed has been fixed. He’s grown so much since surgery. He’s gained seven pounds! He’s grown in clothing, shoe, and diaper size. He’s thriving and healthier than ever.”

“We really love The Children’s Hospital. The staff is awesome, and they genuinely love my son; you can just feel it.” Kristina said. “It really feels like everyone is there just to make the world a better place, and to help our kids grow up to be happy, successful humans. They keep families healthy and allow us to be together and grow together. And thanks to them, we have the greatest gift today: The gift of watching Quincy grow up and some day change the world, too.”

Quincy has had the best time with his siblings this summer, doing lots of swimming and enjoying spending time as a family.

To learn more about how you can make a difference for countless kids like Quincy, visit childrenshospitalsafoundation.org.