From the moment he entered the world in April 2023, Caden’s life became a battle no newborn should ever have to fight.

Doctors delivered the diagnosis with careful words and heavy silence: Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA), Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD), and Pulmonary Stenosis. Three complex congenital heart defects. Each one serious on its own. Together, they threatened every breath, every heartbeat, every chance at life.

As his parents held their tiny son for the first time, joy and fear collided. Caden looked peaceful, unaware of the storm raging inside his chest. But the monitors told the truth. His oxygen levels wavered. His heart worked harder than it should have had to. From that first day, survival was never guaranteed.

A Fragile Beginning

Because of severe pulmonary stenosis, doctors couldn’t perform full corrective surgery right away. Caden was simply too small, too fragile. At just two weeks old, he underwent a balloon atrial septostomy, a delicate procedure designed to increase blood flow and buy time.

It wasn’t a cure. It was a lifeline.

Caden was sent home so he could grow stronger. His parents learned to read his color, his breathing, the subtle signs that meant something wasn’t right. Every day was lived carefully. Every night ended with prayers whispered into the quiet.

They knew the fight was far from over.

When Oxygen Began to Fade

By the time Caden reached three months old, hope began to tremble again. His oxygen levels dropped. Feeding became harder. Panic returned.

A cardiac catheterization revealed what his parents feared: Caden needed open-heart surgery. At just four and a half months old, he faced his first major operation — VSD enlargement.

The hours in the waiting room felt endless. Time stopped. When doctors finally emerged with cautious smiles, relief flooded in. The surgery had gone well.

But recovery would bring its own battles.

Learning to Grow Again

After surgery, Caden struggled to eat. Bottles were refused. His tiny body wasn’t getting enough nutrition to heal.

The solution came with another hard decision: a G-tube, surgically placed to deliver nutrition directly to his stomach. It wasn’t what his parents imagined for their baby, but it became a crucial turning point.

Slowly, Caden began to gain strength. Ounce by ounce, he grew more stable. The tube wasn’t a setback — it was a tool that gave him the chance to keep fighting.

Yet life had more challenges waiting.

A Cycle of Illness

Over the next six months, Caden faced repeated respiratory infections. One virus after another sent him back to the hospital. Oxygen support became routine. Hospital walls felt more familiar than home.

Still, something inside him refused to break.

Despite the machines, the tubes, the endless interventions, Caden remained alert, expressive, and determined. Nurses and doctors spoke of his strength. His parents saw it in his eyes — a quiet insistence on staying.

Valentine’s Day Crisis

In early February 2024, pneumonia struck. Caden was admitted for IV antibiotics. Days later, on Valentine’s Day, everything spiraled.

His oxygen levels dropped into the 60s. His left lung collapsed. His pulmonary artery had enlarged so much that it compressed his airway.

There was no more time to wait.

Caden needed full heart repair.

Thirteen Hours That Changed Everything

On March 4, he was sedated for a catheterization to prepare for surgery. Three days later, Caden entered the operating room for what would become a 13-hour battle for life.

Surgeons performed an extraordinary series of procedures:

• Double root translocation

• LeCompte maneuver

• ASD and VSD closures

• Pulmonary valve repair

The team prepared for the possibility of ECMO. But once again, Caden defied expectations.

He came out of surgery without it.

His chest remained open for three days, then was closed. He was extubated successfully. Each step forward felt like a miracle earned through sheer endurance.

Home, At Last

Recovery was slow and exhausting. His body had to relearn how to function. Muscles weakened by illness needed time. His heart adjusted to its new anatomy.

Three weeks later — one week before his first birthday — Caden went home.

His parents held him, overwhelmed by gratitude. Their little warrior had survived what once seemed impossible.

Life After the Fight

The journey didn’t end there. Six weeks later, residual pulmonary stenosis required another catheterization. The procedure wasn’t successful, but doctors determined no immediate intervention was needed.

Today, at two and a half years old, Caden is thriving.

He attends preschool. He plays with his older brother. He laughs, sings, splashes in water, and explores the world with curiosity. Though he still relies fully on his G-tube, he’s slowly learning to eat by mouth. Every bite is a victory.

More Than Medicine

Caden’s family credits more than medical expertise for his survival. Faith, community, and relentless love carried them through the darkest nights.

They speak with deep gratitude for Dr. Minoo Kavarana and the team at MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital, whose skill and compassion guided every life-saving decision.

Caden’s story has also become a mission.

Congenital heart defects remain the most common birth defects worldwide. His family now advocates for awareness, early detection, and support — so other parents don’t face the same fear alone.

A Living Testament

Caden is more than a medical success story.

He is proof that statistics don’t define destiny.
That strength can live inside the smallest bodies.
That miracles are built through persistence, love, and courage.

Every laugh he shares, every step he takes, every breath he draws is a triumph.

And for everyone who has followed his journey, one truth is undeniable:

Even the smallest hearts can carry the fiercest strength.