THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 26, 1996 TAG: 9605240191
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Susie Stoughton
LENGTH: 97 lines
Joshua Huneycutt just grinned as the tennis ball whizzed past his glove and slammed into the shelves behind him.
Like many T-ballers, Josh can't keep a ball out of his hands, even inside.
And like any proud papa, Grant Huneycutt loves to throw with the 5-year-old, the youngest of his five children. Five years ago, he didn't know whether Josh, who was born with a congenital heart defect, would live, much less play like a normal youngster.
``It's just really a miracle,'' said Josh's mother, Betty, cringing as another knickknack shattered.
``I can't keep anything around here,'' she said, as Josh lobbed the ball back to his father.
The morning Josh was born, he seemed normal. The next day, however, he had trouble breathing and doctors at Obici Hospital realized he had very little oxygen in his blood.
A doctor and two assistants rushed over from Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters and worked four hours to stabilize him for transfer to the Norfolk hospital.
For a week, acid built up in his body, eating holes in his liver and kidney, Grant Huneycutt said.
``They gave us the option of taking him off life support,'' he said. ``It was almost impossible for anybody to live in that condition.''
Almost.
Josh had been born with half a heart and his best chance for survival was a new one, Grant Huneycutt said.
``A baby that far gone - well, they wouldn't consider a transplant,'' he said.
The family prayed while doctors gave Josh blood thinners that improved his circulation and began healing the holes in his organs. When he was eight days old, he had improved enough to be considered for a transplant. Despite the risks, his parents agreed and his name was put at the top of the list for a heart because of his critical condition.
They knew potential recipients often wait for months before a compatible organ is available. Many never receive one in time.
But within hours, a baby was born in Boston and lived just a short while. The parents agreed to donate the child's organs, and Josh was taken to the operating room to await the heart.
Although the transplant was nearly canceled because initial blood tests indicated the donor might have hepatitis, the surgery took place the next morning. Josh, nine days old, became Virginia's youngest heart transplant recipient in a fairly new procedure for the hospital.
The Huneycutts believe the Children's Hospital played a big part in the miracle of Josh's life.
``That's an amazing place,'' Betty Huneycutt said. ``They knew right away as soon as we got there what to do. Within minutes, they found out what the problem was.''
They have always trusted God to take care of them, she said. ``We think it was the Lord's will that that hospital would be there for us.''
The nurses and a hospital social worker helped her so much, she said, before the surgery and after they returned home to Matthew, now 8, and two teenage daughters, Ginger and Michele. They also have a married daughter who has two sons.
The Huneycutts returned to the hospital many times during Josh's first year as he battled pneumonia, tonsilitis and an eating disorder that prevented him from gaining the weight he needed. By his first birthday, he weighed only 10 pounds and Betty Huneycutt had to give him milk through a feeding tube at night.
``Those nurses worked with me,'' she said. ``They were so patient with me, teaching me how to get that tube in there right.''
She learned to use a stethoscope to make sure the tube was inserted correctly.
``If those nurses hadn't been patient with me, I couldn't have done it,'' she said.
At other times, she had to give him antibiotics intravenously.
``I'm pretty used to seeing him needing a lot of help,'' she said.
Every year, the Huneycutts participate in the Children's Miracle Network Telethon that raises money for the local hospital and 160 others in the nation.
``We can't praise the hospital enough,'' Betty Huneycutt said.
Memories of those difficult times are bittersweet as they watch him play.
``He's a rowdy little thing,'' Betty Huneycutt said as Josh nestled into his father's lap.
``He looks good now,'' she said. ``He plays for a while, then he rests. He does good in school and he plays T-ball.''
His father gently carried the youngster to his bed for a nap.
``He's a happy boy,'' he said. ``He hardly ever complains.''
Sometimes a rash causes his hands to bleed, his father said.
``He just grabs that bat and goes on,'' he said.
``It's wonderful because I remember when he couldn't move.'' MEMO: THE TELETHON
The 14th Children's Miracle Network Telethon will be broadcast live
from the Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters on WVEC-TV 13 from
11 p.m. Saturday until 8 p.m. June 2. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
Grant and Betty Huneycutt are thankful that their son Joshua,
center, is thriving after his care at Children's Hospital of The
King's Daughters. by CNB