FOR 14-month-old Jenson, every moment is precious after he received a life-changing diagnosis just months into his short life.
On April 29 last year, his parents Brianna Dalton and Jesse Carlile took him to Ipswich Hospital’s emergency department, where he initially refused to feed and seemed unwell.
But after eventually feeding while there, doctors discharged Jenson, assuring the parents that he was fine.
“At first they didn’t really give any answers – they said they couldn’t visually see anything and since he began feeding while we were there, said are we happy to be discharged and we were none the wiser,” Ms Dalton told Local Ipswich News.
Two days later, Jenson’s condition worsened, prompting his parents to return to the hospital.
They said doctors initially considered discharging him again, but one noticed his heavy breathing.
Suspecting pneumonia or sepsis, blood tests and an X-ray were ordered, which led to an unexpected discovery – his heart was enlarged.
Further tests confirmed Jenson was born with ALCAPA (Anomalous left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery), a rare congenital heart condition.
He was rushed to the Queensland Children’s Hospital’s intensive care unit, and in the following months Jenson suffered two cardiac arrests. The first occurred under anaesthetic, prompting immediate emergency open-heart surgery.
The second, on June 28, came as he was recovering and nearly ready for discharge.
“We were shocked. He was doing so well; no one understands why it happened,” Ms Dalton said.
The second cardiac arrest resulted in severe hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) – lack of oxygen to the brain.
Doctors are unsure of the long-term impact, but his family is determined to give him every opportunity for recovery.
With their NDIS funding now exhausted, his parents are fundraising for another round of intensive therapy in June, hoping to continue therapy three times a year.
Despite the challenges, the family remains hopeful of a positive outcome.
You can donate to the family’s gofundme at – gofundme.com/f/jensons-fundraiser.
