Down Syndrome
Peyton was born at Flowers Hospital in Dothan, Alabama at 6:15 p.m. on 11/19/06. The doctors informed us that he needed to be flown to Children's Hospital that night because he did not have an anus, he had a major VSD, and he had Down Syndrome. Once the flight team arrived they put Peyton in a big machine, and they told my husband and I that they would take good care of him. I got to the Hospital the next day (even though it was not visiting hours) the nurses at Children’s let me hold my baby for the first time in NICU. Peyton had Colostomy Surgery two days later. His first stay at Children’s lasted for three weeks and he has since had a few more surgeries. We continue to go back and forth to Children's hospital and probably will for a few more years. Even though Peyton is doing a lot better, he still has a long way to go, and without the support of Children’s Hospital he would have never made it this far. After Peyton was born, I heard a story about how several years ago when a baby was born with Down Syndrome, that the baby would not be taken care of and people would just let them die. Without Children’s Hospital many of these children would not be alive today. My husband and I could not imagine our lives without Peyton, he has been our joy. Children's Hospital and staff saved our son’s life and we are grateful everyday for that. Thank you to all the staff for taking care of our son and being there for our family— especially Dr. Harmon who has been there since the beginning
