'Miracle baby' home for holidays

  • Published
  • By Chris Calkins
  • 45th Space Wing Public Affairs
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Capt. Chris Schlagheck and wife Heidi endured a nearly year-long grueling, medical battle with their first-born son Austin that recently culminated with the three of them being home for the holiday season. 

The joy experienced Oct.23, 2006, when the Captain Schlagheck learned Heidi was pregnant was dashed ten weeks later, when they were told their unborn son was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a potentially life-threatening situation.

They were given four options at that time: 
-- terminate the pregnancy;
-- compassionate care (carry the baby full term allowing him to die after birth); 
-- heart transplant;
-- three-stage reconstructive surgery.

Understandably, the news hit both of them like a tornado.

"I was heartbroken," Heidi said. "I never imagined being put in a position where a doctor was telling me it was an option to kill my own child. I was sad for myself, felt that I had somehow let Chris down, and most of all, saddened by the idea of bringing a child into the world who would have to go through so much pain."

Her husband, after battling both denial and disbelief, said the ultimate decision was an easy one.

"The first two options were just unacceptable to us. We would not give up. The third option (heart transplant) could and always can be used if the three-stage surgery does not work out well. The fourth option gave Austin the best chance at life with his own heart," said Captain Schlagheck, who is the Engineering Flight commander with the 1st Space Launch Squadron.

Heidi was admitted to Florida Hospital April 26, because the baby's heart was ecelerating with each contraction. Two weeks later she was airlifted to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Austin McKinley (Heidi's maiden name) Schlagheck came into the world June 14, weighing 5 pounds and 10 ounces. He was immediately stabilized and transported to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

The very next day the couple learned their newborn son had an unknown hemorrhage or lesion on his brain. Two days after that, during the first of his three operations needed on his heart, Austin went into cardiac arrest for seven minutes until cardiologists could get a good rhythm back into his heart.

Two weeks later, another magnetic resonance image, or MRI, of Austin's brain indicated there was a tumor, and another one taken July 28 confirmed the tumor and showed exponential growth, indicating the tumor was malignant.

One thing about the Schlagheck's: they are fighters.

So they took Austin to All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Fla., where they performed a third MRI on Sept. 26, and -- once again -- confirmed the exponential growth of the tumor and cancer.

Obviously not believers in the old "three-strikes-and-you're-out" philosophy, the couple headed east to see a neurosurgeon in Orlando and underwent a fourth MRI Oct. 26.

"We did that one to determine if we could place Austin into hospice care so he could die comfortably. It was then they determined the tumor had not grown as much as they expected," said Captain Schlagheck.

The Orlando doctor arranged to have Austin sent back to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to undergo high-risk brain surgery.

"He still felt the tumor was cancerous and would only give us -- at best -- a 50-50 chance for survival but we didn't care. That was better odds than the 100-percent chance he'd die if we did nothing," said Heidi.

On Nov. 7, Austin underwent neurosurgery in Philadelphia. The tumor was determined to be "mature taratoma," a totally benign and non-cancerous tumor.

He's home now. And doing well.

He's scheduled to have his second heart operation in about six weeks and the third one in a year or two.

The prognosis is positive.

Being "thankful" doesn't even come close to saying how the couple feels, they said. 

Captain Schlagsheck said his command put him on permissive temporary duty orders from late April through mid-July so he could take care of Heidi and be there for Austin's birth and first scheduled heart operation.

"When Captain Schlagheck initially informed me of the situation with his son following his birth, I let him know that he had the full support of the entire squadron behind him and his family," said Lt. Col. Ron Fortson, his squadron commander.

"People are the greatest asset in my unit. Taking care of the Airmen and their families is what makes the Air Force so great," he said.

The captain and his wife are the very first to agree.

"To watch the other fathers in similar situations struggle with mounting medical bills, travel costs, no time off from work ... well, it really struck both of us how well we were being treated by the Air Force," he said. "I just want to say 'thanks' to my leadership and troops for their leadership and support, for our families for always keeping us strong, to the Medical Group for their outstanding efforts, and to my wife for her love through some of the toughest decisions we will ever have to make."

His wife looked toward the heavens.

"First and foremost, I am thankful to God for not only providing a second chance at life for my son, but for carrying me and Chris through the past year, and giving us peace despite the unimaginable issues we have been faced with," Heidi said.

"We both decided we'd fight for Austin just as long as he kept fighting. And he is quite a fighter. It's just so good to have him home," she said.

Talk about a Happy Thanksgiving. 

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