Meet Ollie

Bio:

Ollie is now 3 years old, but his life so far has been filled with many ups and downs. After his mom's routine pregnancy, the medical team in the delivery room detected something was seriously wrong within minutes of his birth. Ollie was quickly stabilized and transferred that day to St. Louis Children's Hospital from another local BJC hospital. Once he arrived, Ollie's family was told that he was one of the sickest babies in The St. Louis Children's and Washington University Heart Center. At less than 12 hours old, his tiny body was placed on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), allowing his heart and lungs to rest. Ollie was diagnosed with obstructed infracardiac total anomalous pulmonary venous return, a rare and critical heart defect. In addition, Ollie was also diagnosed with Down syndrome and coarctation of the aorta.

Ollie underwent his first open-heart surgery at just a few days old. The situation looked very grim, but he proved to be a fighter and survived not only the 11-hour surgery, but also more than seven days with his chest open. After five weeks in the hospital, Ollie was cleared to go home. While this was both a happy and scary time for his parents, they were thankful to have their family finally together. Ollie's prognosis was still unclear, and his parents were told several times he may not survive. He has required many cardiac catheterizations and has been hospitalized four times due to viral infections. He also battles pulmonary vein stenosis and pulmonary hypertension as a result of his initial diagnosis. Ollie has been a warrior through it all and is constantly reaching new milestones. Today, Ollie regularly visits his medical team at St. Louis Children's Hospital and continues to beat the odds stacked against him.

Because of You:

Ollie's parents are beyond thankful for his medical team and care at St. Louis Children's Hospital. They are grateful for many of the donor-funded services that their family has been able to utilize. The Child Life Services team created a book for Ollie's siblings so they would know what to expect when they met him. They are also very involved when Ollie visits or is required to stay at the hospital. Ollie's parents are thankful for resources like the Center for Families, where they can get a cup of coffee, snacks or see a friendly face. Because Ollie has three older siblings at home, his parents have to split their time at the hospital so these easily accessible resources are appreciated after lonely days in the hospital.

Watch Ollie's Story: