HEARTBROKEN
Church to hold fund-raiser for baby
By Lori Mellinger

Infant 8- month-old Mikayla Graham poses for a family photo with her father, Raymond, mother, Barbara, and 3-year-old sister Shea.

Barbara Graham said she would never take anything for granted again. It was - after all - phenomenal when she took her youngest, Mikayla - then six months old - in for a check up - only to have her rushed to Medical City in Dallas.

"They wouldn't even let us pack a bag," she said. "We had to go straight there."

The doctors were alarmed when they began Mikayla's exam- -ination.

Dr. Pitts, Barbara said, heard a murmur in Mikayla's heart.

Barbara had been a little concerned, but this wasn't Mikayla's first brush with illness.

When she was first born, Mikayla had trouble with oxygen, but was released from the hospital with a clean bill of health after two weeks.

And though she'd only gained four pounds, Barbara just thought everything was OK - she was a little fussier than her threeyear old sister Shea had been and spit up more, but Barbara knew every baby was different.

But when they arrived at the Dallas hospital, Barbara and her husband Raymond had to face something they never imagined, and it was life and death.

A heart specialist - after doing an echogram and EKG - diagnosed Mikayla with "total anomalous pulmonary venous return."

In normal circulation, blood picks up oxygen in the lungs and then returns to the left atrium. It then flows to the left ventricle, through the aorta, and around the body.

With TAPVR, oxygenated blood returns to the right atrium instead. From there it goes to the right ventricle, through the pulmonary artery and back to the lungs. In other words, blood simply circles to and from the lungs and never gets out to the body - causing strain on the lungs, as well. If the infant is to live, a large passage between the left and right atria must exist to allow oxygenated blood to flow to the left side of the heart and rest of the body.

The severity of this condition depends on whether the pulmonary veins are obstructed. There are four subtypes of TAPVR, based on the location of the veins' connection back to the heart. In Mikayla's type, the veins run into the abdomen, passing through a muscle (diaphragm). This muscle squeezes the veins and narrows them, causing the blood to back up into the lungs. This type causes symptoms early in life.

"Basically, she had a hole in her heart," Barbara said.

Doctors immediately began a heart catheter to help Mikayla's circulation, but Barbara said her oxygen levels dropped dangerously low, and the only option was surgery.

"They told us her chances of surviving were low," Barbara said. But after she and Raymond talked, she felt better.

"I knew she'd be fine," Barbara said through tears. "We had her dedicated at church when she was a month old, so I had faith either way it went."

But Barbara and her family weren't ready to give up. With the doctor's predicted chances of survival grim, they knew they had a choice: send her to surgery or take her home to die.

They weren't ready to give up just yet.

On Monday, Dec. 18, Barbara and Raymond handed their daughter to the surgeons at Medical City, and that's the first indication they had things would be OK.

"Mikayla didn't like strangers," Barbara said. "And she went to the doctors and nurses readily. That's when I knew."

But that was also the hardest part for the couple.

"I broke down," she said. "The hardest part was letting go of her."

Five hours later, they had the news: Mikayla would be OK for now.

"She's not cured," Barbara said. "But she's getting better every day. She's gaining weight and she's blossomed."

And none of that would have happened had members of the community not stepped in to help.

Because Mikayla's medication is expensive, the pharmacist at Brookshire's was aware of the family's plight.

He got in touch with Hazel Mason of First United Methodist Church's Mission House.

Hazel began raising money for Mikayla's medicine with the Ladies' Club at Emerald Bay.

Stores around town began collecting money for the family, including Subway.

"While we were in Dallas, we were using money from the collection account, when a few hundred dollars appeared," Barbara said.

It turned out the money came from a collection box at Subway that the family wasn't even aware of.

"They brought the flyer in one day," said store manager Krystal Stare, and we put a collection box with it.

"We're just happy our store helped Mikayla."

When FUMC pastor Dr. Gary Fitzgerald caught wind of the activities, he wanted to plan a fund-raising dinner for the family.

And the entire community got involved: Lakewood Church (the family's church), Subway, Taco El Conquistador, Happy Donuts, Brookshire's, Bruno's Pizza, Big Lots, Bullard Church of Christ and First Baptist Church of Bullard.

The group is putting on a spaghetti dinner fund-raiser with the cost of a plate a donation to the family's medical expenses. The dinner will be held after morning services, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the church.

Mission House has an account set up for the family's medical expenses at Texas National Bank.

"This experience is something I would never wish on anyone, " Barbara said. "But it has increased my faith - both in God and in people.

"I've got so much to be grateful for." Barbara said Mikayla has a strength and energy she's never seen before.

As for Shea, Barbara said, "she's a little more grown up now."