KAPA’A – Cheryl Brede doesn’t need Mother’s Day to appreciate being a mom. Every day spent with daughter Courtney and son Curran is a blessing for Cheryl and her husband Scott. Eight years ago, early in her second pregnancy, Cheryl
KAPA’A – Cheryl Brede doesn’t need Mother’s Day to appreciate being a mom.
Every day spent with daughter Courtney and son Curran is a blessing for Cheryl and her husband Scott.
Eight years ago, early in her second pregnancy, Cheryl was rushed to Kapiolani Women’s & Children’s Center for emergency surgery on a perforated bowel. Doctors warned her that she would probably lose the baby she was carrying.
Although Cheryl had been diagnosed with Krohn’s disease in college, she didn’t anticipate any problems when she became pregnant with Courtney. Before having her first child, she had checked with her doctor, been assured everything would be okay, and eventually given birth to a healthy baby boy.
Four-and-a-half years later, when she became pregnant with Courtney, her disease had been in remission for years and her first pregnancy had gone so well. All she felt was joy at having another child. She had no way of knowing that the ordeal that would change their lives had already begun.
Cheryl and baby came through the surgery with flying colors and Scott had already returned to Kauai to get things ready for her homecoming when the doctors at Kapiolani gave her chilling news: Something was very wrong with her baby’s heart.
“I remember holding my stomach as they talked to me,” she said. After everything they had come through successfully, “it was very hard to hear them say she had a heart defect.”
The next day, Cheryl was flown to Loma Linda Hospital in California to consult with Dr. Leonard Bailey, the renowned cardiologist who had made history 10 years earlier by transplanting the heart of a baboon into “Baby Fae.”
At Loma Linda, Bailey confirmed that the baby had a complex heart defect. Under his care, Cheryl managed to carry her baby to full term and Courtney was delivered by Cesarean section on Sept. 25, 1994.
But after her birth, doctors discovered the problem with her heart was even more serious than first suspected. After much soul-searching, Courtney’s parents opted for a heart transplant rather than corrective surgery.
At the age of 17 days, Courtney became the 174th infant heart transplant recipient.
With the exception of one frightening bout with rejection nine days after the surgery, Courtney has done just fine ever since.
“She’s just such a happy girl,” Cheryl says, “She loves to go to school and she loves her brother.”
A second-grader at St. Catherine’s School, Courtney is very bright, her mom says proudly, and can read and write at grade level. She rarely stays home from school, but does have days when she’s tired and needs to rest.
“Her teachers will write notes, ‘Not a good day,’ or ‘Made it through the day,’ ” Cheryl says. “It’s a good school, they’re good about taking care of her.”
Courtney also loves going to church and can’t wait to become an altar server. Recently, she received her First Holy Communion, counting the days for weeks before the big day,
“She had her beautiful white dress and veil and she was totally excited. She couldn’t wait,” Cheryl said..
Courtney may not be able to play many sports but the spunky little girl does just about everything else. She’s taken hula for three years, been a Brownie and Daisy Scout, and takes ukulele at school. Her mom doesn’t push her but does lets her sign up for everything she wants to do.
Singing and dancing in front of anyone is a favorite pastime and the late singer Selena is her idol.
Every day, Courtney must take medication that helps keep her alive, including anti-rejection drugs. Four times a year, the family travels together for her regular checkups, three at Kapiolani and an annual week-long exam in October at Loma Linda, where an intensive battery of tests are performed.
The medication and appointments are critical to Courtney’s survival. From Day 1, doctors stressed how important being on time with medication and follow-up doctor appointments would be when taking care of a child with transplant.
“In the beginning in the mainland, it was real scary,” Cheryl admits. “I had to write down everything, set
alarms and watches and husband. There were so many things going on. But eventually it becomes part of your lifestyle and you just do it. I’ve learned so much and Courtney’s grandparents help a lot.”
Courtney is also a real trooper about her medical requirements and reminds her parents when it’s time to take her medicine.
“She even enjoys going to the doctor and isn’t afraid of IVs,” her mother said.
“They don’t have to do anything. She just tells them, ‘I want this arm today.’ “
No matter how many appointments are kept and tests are taken, there are still anxieties about the results but Cheryl said dwelling on what could happen just adds stress and they try to take it one day at a time and live their lives to the fullest.
She also is extremely grateful to their families and their employers. Cheryl is a marketing assistant with MVCI Time Share and Scott is a police officer with Kauai Police Department. Both employers have been wonderful about allowing them to take the time they need for medical visits and worry about their outcome as if they too were part of the family, she said.
One of the things Scott and Cheryl were warned about after Courtney’s surgery was the toll taking care of her would put on their family.
“They told us the stress can ruin a marriage. But we have so much love for this little girl, it’s not a toll on us, it’s part of our lifestyle like brushing our teeth or getting ready for work.”
Cheryl says the staff at Loma Linda looks forward to seeing Courtney every year.
“They treat you like you’re family, with open arms and hugs. They kneel down and hug her.”
Courtney’s medical team is also thrilled at how well she’s doing, especially since she lives so far away.
“They tell us, ‘Whatever you and your husband are doing, keep doing it,’ ” Cheryl smiled.
Taking care of Courtney has brought them all closer as a family and as a couple, Cheryl says. Even 12-year-old Curran patiently waits for his sister to get through her tests.
Once the appointments are all done, the family spends time on fun things together.
Sometimes Courtney worries that her parents might get upset because she has to go to the doctor all the time, but her mom reassures her that they enjoy doing it together.
“Even at her young age, she understands, she knows it’s a chore too.”
Cheryl’s hopes her daughter will be able to grow up and be like other girls and live a normal life, even if she still needs to continue checkups and medications. And she says she and Scott have no regrets about anything.
“When I look at my child, I don’t regret anything. I grew from this and I learned so much. I feel she was given to us as a blessing.”
But both parents can’t help but worry about their daughter. Sometimes, the newsletters from Loma Linda are filled with good news but too often there are sympathy messages.
“We know who they are, we’ve seen their pictures,” Cheryl says sadly. “We meet the new ones and go back and find out they didn’t survive.”
“Scott is humble and quiet but his daughter’s everything to him. When she’s sleeping he goes in to kiss her. When I discipline her, she runs to daddy and he lets her go. I see his worry in him, I see it in his face,” Cheryl said.
And while she tries not to think about life without Courtney , she feels she’s done the best she can.
“If something were to happen, I know I truly tried to give her a good life,” Cheryl said.
As a mother who’s been through so much, her advice and hope for all parents is that they just “enjoy your child every day and be thankful for all the time God has given.”
