Hudson’s Strive To Thrive With Williams Syndrome

Hi, my name is Michelle and I am creating this fundraiser on behalf of my sister Alyssa, her husband Brandon, their amazing daughter Ella and sweet baby boy Hudson.

Hudson was born on February 2, 2021 with multiple congenital heart defects and spent a couple days in the NICU for newborn jaundice. When he was brought home he had to continue light therapy.

His jaundice improved and he was gaining weight phenomenally until suddenly his breathing became very labored and his feeding struggled. He had a significant drop in weight which fell below his birth weight. He then saw a specialist who referred him to be admitted to Phoenix Children’s Hospital immediately.

After spending what seemed like forever in the hospital running tests, long nights and a struggle to find answers, Hudson was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called Williams Syndrome.

With his diagnosis came the reality that Hudson will face many health challenges throughout his lifetime and would be in need of full time care. It was expected that he would require open heart surgery sometime in the near future.

Hudson spent 77 days in the hospital before getting to go home with his family. He discharged with a feeding tube and over 12 medications, both requiring 24 hour maintenance. Along with attempting to maintain a household, raising their 5 year old daughter, Brandon working a full time job, Alyssa continuing school and trying to have a somewhat normal life.

After some time, Hudson’s weight plateaued and they saw his cardiologist who decided it was time to schedule his heart surgery for mid July. The hope was that they could wait for him to get bigger and older but with his failure to thrive the surgery would be a huge help to (hopefully) improve many of his health issues.

On Tuesday 7/13/2021, Hudson had his open heart surgery and it was a success ❤️

The heart surgeon was able to successfully repair his VSD (the hole in his heart) and said he was amazed to find that Hudson’s pulmonary artery had minimal narrowing and that he didn’t have to touch it!

The incredible team of doctors and nurses have been taking such good care of him as he recovers. As of now, his recovery has been smooth. He has a very high tolerance for the meds so lots have been given to keep him calm while he remains intubated. The hopes are to get his breathing tube out soon.

Hudson has a very long road ahead of him with expected medical problems, developmental delays and learning challenges that will need therapeutic intervention as he continues to get older.

Navigating through this difficult time in their lives has been anything but easy but Alyssa and Brandon have stayed so strong and continue to be the best parents they can be.

Any help at all is very much appreciated, even if it’s just prayers for Hudson and his family ❤️

To learn more about Williams Syndrome, you can visit https://williams-syndrome.org