Pulling
on Your
Heartstrings
Advances in medicine and
open heart surgery saved the life of
18-month-old Harper Mae Hutchinson.
.
Y
By Tracey Fedkoe
ou’d never know that typical
toddler Harper Mae Hutchinson,
who has an infectious smile and
loves to be the center of attention,
didn’t start out as a healthy strong baby.
Even before she was born, her parents, Rachel (Keenan)Hutchinson of Mt. Lebanon, and
Chris Hutchinson of Bethel Park, knew their baby had a heart defect. A sonogram followed
by prenatal echocardiogram discovered that Harper had a large Ventrical
Septal Defect (VSD), which is a hole in the wall separating the two lower
chambers of the heart that causes the heart and lungs to work much harder.
She was born on August 8, 2012, and the VSD was confirmed along
with an additional heart defect called Stenosis of the Pulmonary Valve—a
terrifying diagnosis for first-time parents. The Hutchinsons did get to take
her home with the slim possibility that her heart may heal itself, but knew
that open-heart surgery may be needed. Her doctors wanted to wait until
at least 12 weeks to do the surgery, but at seven weeks and only 10 lbs.,
Harper couldn’t wait any longer and underwent open-heart surgery on
October 1, 2012, at Children’s Hospital.
During the surgery, it was discovered that Harper had suffered a heart
attack, most likely in utero. Complications required her chest to remain
open for five days in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. W