Miracle Monday – Tyler Smith

Tonya and Brian Smith were excited for the birth of their first child. But they never imagined that Tyler’s arrival at McLaren on July 2, 2003 would be filled with such panic and trauma. Tonya suffered from “vasa previa” – a condition in which the umbilical cord ruptures and hemorrhages during delivery. Fortunately, Dr. Aranas from Hurley’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) had been summoned. She worked on Tyler for 15 minutes before there was any response. She wouldn’t give up. 

The baby was stabilized and 45 minutes after his birth, Tyler was rushed to Hurley. The fear was that he would be paralyzed with little to no cognitive functions. This fragile baby suffered seizures and had two holes in his heart. His prognosis was bleak. It looked like he would spend months in the NICU. And then the miracle happened!   

Tyler suddenly took a turn for the better. Amazingly, he was discharged from the NICU after only TWO weeks! He no longer needed seizure medication. His Cardiologist felt the holes in his heart were healed. The prognosis of being in a vegetative state or at the very least having cerebral palsy did not prove true. Tyler developed normally and the only health issue that surfaced was asthma. 

Fast forward to today and Tyler is in 11th grade.  He is driving now and purchased his first car last October.  He balances school and work, along with playing travel baseball.  Tyler also enjoys bowling with his friends.  He has always liked being busy since he hit the ground walking/running when he was 10 months old.  Every day is a blessing.

Join us this week, April 19 – 25th as we celebrate miracles like Tyler during Children’s  Hospitals Week. Please donate to continue the miracles at  http://hurleyfoundation.org/donate