Bishop was diagnosed fetally with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, a condition where the left side of the heart doesn’t develop. It requires a series of 3 open-heart surgeries over the span of a few years to reroute blood flow where the right side does the work for the entire heart. Bishop had his first surgery at 6 days old, the second surgery at 4 months old, and just recently had his third surgery in May at 4.5 years old. This summer he has spent a total of 43 days in the hospital across multiple discharges and readmissions while battling complications that include dehydration, pleural effusions (fluid outside of his lungs), and blood clots inside his heart. In efforts to overcome these issues, he has remained on a significant medication regimen and has had extended periods with chest tubes. His diet has been restricted for months, beginning with water only and has now progressed to minimal fat intake. We are hopeful the effusions will resolve on their own with rest, time, medication, and diet. If not, we’re in contact with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for additional treatment.
Bishop has a 9-year-old brother and an 11-year-old sister. He has an outgoing, fun-loving personality. He loves baseball, Star Wars, and anything else that his big brother is into. He never shies away from a good wrestling match, nerf war, or dance-off. Bishop is the center of attention in any room he is in and has been an absolute blessing for us as his parents. We are thankful for every day that we’re home, getting to spend time with him and our other two children.