BC Children's hospital is an amazing facility that all members at Saint have had experiences with. We dedicate ourselves to supporting the hospital and charities that in turn also support the foundation. We will be highlighting stories of families and their children's experiences at the hospital over the next few months. We invite you to share your experiences with us also!

This is the story of Huck Joy and the incredible professionalism and talent of BC Children's Hospital.

Written By Cheryl Joy

On July 4, 2015 our beautiful son Huck was born. Unfortunately Huck was born with a rare congenital heart defect known as transposition of the great arteries. This occurs when the two main arteries leaving the heart – the aorta and the pulmonary artery – are reversed. This starves the body of oxygen and is fatal without intervention.

Knowing our son's survival was dependent on open-heart surgery was absolutely devastating and terrifying, but we felt confident in the teams' ability to provide the best care for our baby.

At just five days old, Huck underwent his first open heart operation. He came out of the operating room with a breathing tube, feeding tube, pace maker, drains, open sternum and numerous other tubes. The sight of Huck post-op was horrific. As a parent, nothing can ever prepare you for what we encountered.

Huck after the first operation to switch the Aorta and Pulmonary arteries. A pace maker was attached as a back up while his tiny heart recovered.

Due to complexities of the first surgery, Huck is without a pulse on his right side.

A few days after his operation Huck's right lung collapsed and he required another surgery. At the time, we were sleeping in a make shift room attached to the ICU that the nurses sometimes used on breaks. It had a single Murphy bed and an uncomfortable, narrow couch. Being woken during the night to sign surgery release forms was becoming the norm.

The very next day Huck developed another post-op complication that was extremely rare. A blood clot was obstructing the main vein draining blood from the head. This condition is so rare that our surgeon had never once seen this happen in his twenty-three year career. Huck was once again rushed away for emergency surgery.

It was at this point that Clint and I were told to prepare for the worst. Our doctors did not expect Huck to survive and it was a moment we will unfortunately never forget.

Thankfully, we had an amazing surgeon and dedicated team who refused to give up on Huck that day and miraculously he survived!

Through our journey, it became evident how crucial donations are to BC Children's Hospital. The donations allow the hospital to recruit the best staff in the world and equip the hospital with state-of-the-art technology. The level of care offered to families is phenomenal. I honestly don't have a better word to use than phenomenal. The staff is caring, patient and extraordinarily talented. We will forever be grateful to BC Children's Hospital for saving our son. Not only does it mean the world to us, but also it means so much to all the other families that utilize BC Children's Hospital every day.

Cheryl Joy

Miracle weekend 2017 presenting the check from the 2016 First Annual Tough as Huck Golf Tournament.

*Clint and Cheryl along with their good friend Jeff, began the Tough As Huck Charity Golf Tournament in July 2016 to raise funds for the hospital. This wouldn't have been possible without the support of family, friends, sponsors, golfers, donations, volunteers etc. To date over $40,000 has been raised since inception. The third annual tournament will be held September 8th at the Pitt Meadows Golf Club. More information can be found at HERE or by emailing info@saintconstruction.ca*

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BC Children's Hospital - Stories from the Community

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