01/21/2026
"Jerrytt was born at 25 weeks as a micro preemie. We knew we had a long road ahead of us. About a month or so into our NICU stay, he had a large PDA, which they were able to close using medication. However, this prolonged his time on the ventilator to about 2 months, so when we did come home, he was on oxygen for a year and saw physical therapy and occupational therapy regularly.
Around 2 years old, he was diagnosed with CP. He struggles even to this day with tightness in his legs. It wasn’t long after this that we learned he would have to have open-heart surgery. He had been diagnosed with a partial congenital anomalous pulmonary venous connection and Superior sinus venous atrial septal defect. At the time, we were going to Lexington for all of his appointments, but after hearing the word “open heart”, we came to Cincinnati Children's. We started seeing Dr. Weyhrauch and he just explained things in a way that we could understand and helped us feel much more calm and relaxed about it. After several rescheduled surgeries due to respiratory illness, he finally got to have his surgery done in February.
I just want to say WOW!!! Cincinnati was so great with our sweet boy. The surgery went amazing and we were released to go home by day 3. We felt completely comfortable with everything. Truthfully, the hardest part was trying to keep him down. It’s hard to tell a 3-year-old to take it easy. Physical therapy helped him while we were there with walking and letting him ride a car down the halls, which he enjoyed. Everyone who played a role or had a hand in his care were phenomenal.
After coming home, we adjusted after a week or so of getting used to our new routine. It truly helped knowing that if we had any concerns at all we could contact the doctor. By the time of his 6 weeks post op, it was like he never had the surgery. He has healed amazingly. He is so proud of his scar, which he should be. He has always been so determined and never lets anything hold him back!"
