Mike and MeMe Hulsey were looking forward to the birth of their fourth baby boy when they were given some unsettling news. A routine ultrasound at five month’s gestation revealed their boy, Ben, had a common congenital heart defect. They immediately went to Wolfson Children’s Hospital where Stephanie Lacey, DO confirmed the diagnosis.

In a follow-up appointment, Dr. Lacey soon discovered Ben’s condition was far from ordinary. The connections leading from Ben’s heart to his coronary arteries and brain were closing. Once Ben was born and the umbilical cord was cut, he would not be able to live on his own. In fact, no baby with Ben’s condition had ever survived.

Refusing to give up, Dr. Lacey quickly assembled an elite team of more than 25 doctors, specialists, and nurses who devised a plan.

When the day of delivery came, the team was ready. Within a minute of being born, Ben received CPR until he could be connected to an ECMO machine, which took Ben’s blood, oxygenated it and put it back into his body. A few days later, the surgical team performed an operation so blood could flow to Ben’s brain. After two more weeks on ECMO, a second surgery permanently corrected the defects in Ben’s heart.

Today, Ben is a happy, growing boy. We invite you to watch his amazing story in the video below, click on the play arrow.