A new mom had an unusual but extraordinary post-childbirth experience last month at Sevier Valley Hospital. The delivery was “the most normal birthing experience someone could ask for,” says the mother, Taylor Shields. “Everything went according to plan.”
There were no complications with the delivery and Taylor’s little newborn boy, Hudson, seemed to be doing well. But her elation began to give way, when caregivers showed concern about baby Hudson’s heart. They detected a heart murmur.
At first, Taylor was comforted by the thought that “usually newborns have heart murmurs.” However, when the team checked Hudson’s heart the following day, the murmur had gotten worse. This was hard news for Taylor, who says she was very anxious.
“Just becoming a brand new parent is overwhelming,” she says. “Hudson’s heart murmur added a whole new level of stress and worries.”
Concerned caregivers knew Hudson needed an echocardiogram, a type of ultrasound that creates an image of the heart. Unfortunately, the equipment needed to perform the test on the newborn wasn’t available at Sevier. Caregivers called Utah Valley Hospital in Provo to explain the situation. Utah Valley echo tech Matt Tingey heard about the situation and agreed to travel the two hours from Provo to Richfield to perform the test.
“It was my day off,” Matt says. “They reached out to our team to say a baby needed an echo at Sevier. Other people could have gone the next day, but I said I could go that evening.”
Matt dropped everything and jumped in a car to make his way to Sevier Valley Hospital with the equipment. When he arrived, Matt performed the echocardiogram on baby Hudson and alerted a remote cardiologist who was on standby to read Hudson’s results. Within minutes, the cardiologist was able to provide a diagnosis.
Hudson was suffering from an aortic stenosis, a dangerous heart defect that restricts the blood moving from his heart to the rest of his body.
“In the aortic valve, there are these little leaflets,” Taylor says. “After the blood gets pumped through the heart, it goes through the aortic valve into the body. Well, his little leaflets are thick. They’re very, very thick, so there’s a risk it could close up, or that he won’t have enough blood going through his body.”
Little Hudson was flown to Primary Children’s Hospital shortly after the positive echo. At Primary Children’s, caregivers were able to perform a “balloon valvuloplasty” procedure that widened the leaflets in Hudson’s tiny heart to let his blood flow. The procedure likely saved Hudson’s life.
Without treatment, caregivers say, Hudson would have soon started turning blue, not feeding, and acting strangely. He was spared any prolonged suffering and discomfort, though, thanks to Sevier caregivers’ diligence, Matt’s heroic efforts, and the expert care from the Primary Children’s team.
The Sevier team’s attention to detail didn’t go unnoticed.
“I’m so thankful,” Taylor says. “I’m so, so thankful for the tools they have nowadays, their education. I’m so thankful for them knowing to pick up on heart murmurs.”
Of the Primary Children’s team, Taylor adds, “The technology they have to be able to see and fix the stuff he was diagnosed with is incredible. All I can say is we’re blessed and we’re thankful and it’s incredible.”
Taylor says the whole Sevier community was quick to reach out to offer support and donations, too.
“There were so many people who reached out to us,” she says. “I’m in awe.”
But Taylor reserves the most gratitude for Matt.
“I want to thank him for his time,” she says. “I want to thank him for absolutely everything, for putting forth the effort to travel all the way to Richfield. I’m thankful because, if he didn’t, we could be in a totally different environment right now. I’m just thankful, and my husband is thankful.”
Matt says he cherished the opportunity to help.
“Pediatrics holds a special place for me,” he says. “When I heard a kiddo needed help, it ended up working out. The doctor has to read the findings, but I knew what was going on and knew the urgency behind it. I called the cardiologist and got the ball rolling and helped others understand the urgency.”
An echo tech for more than 15 years, Matt said he loves working with the heart, especially with pediatric cardiology. He’s happy he can provide some comfort during tough situations.
“I’m glad I could be there for that baby and that baby’s parents,” Matt says. “We’ve got a great echo lab, and anyone would have done it. I’m glad I was in the right place at the right time.”
Hudson heart is now faring much better. He’s doing “incredible” and “eats like it’s going out of style,” mom says. He’ll need regular checkups with a cardiologist in the future, but Hudson is now a perfectly normal healthy newborn.
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