Sweet Strong Sam Loves Happy Wheels!

Our Sweet Strong Sam was born at Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital in Charleston with LCDH (left-sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia). CDH happens when a baby’s diaphragm has a hole, allowing organs to move into the chest and limit lung growth. In Sam’s case, his intestines, spleen, stomach, and most of his liver had migrated into his chest. He was delivered in the OR with 15+ people and intubated immediately.

He did well at first, and on day 3 had surgery to move the organs down. The surgery went well—until it didn’t. As they were closing, Sam had a pulmonary hypertension crisis and went into cardiac arrest 3 times. He was placed on ECMO (the highest form of life support). Due to oxygen loss, he lost 60% of his short bowel and had two brain bleeds. He was on open-chested ECMO for 21 days and ventilated for almost 3 months. He spent his first 7.5 months at MUSC fighting hard, and we witnessed miracle after miracle.

Sam came home on Sept 12, 2024, with a central line for TPN, an NG tube, an ostomy bag, and oxygen. At 2 years old, he is thriving—off oxygen, no longer has an ostomy, and is totally off TPN. Sam has a G-tube and has started to finally eat some food by mouth! He is the happiest, bravest boy ever.

We hadn’t heard of Happy Wheels before Sam’s stay, but connected with them within two weeks—and continued visiting weekly. It’s hard to put into words the joy a friendly smile and toy/book can bring when you are living in the hospital fighting for your baby’s life. Getting to choose a toy or book for Sam gave me a bit of normalcy in those abnormal newborn days.

His sister Annie came each weekend and loved seeing what Sam got. She read to him, played with him, and brought joy and support in her own way.

We are forever thankful to Happy Wheels—they’ll always have a special place in our hearts!

One day, each week throughout the year, Happy Wheels volunteers make rounds to each inpatient room with a decorated surgical cart filled with brand new books and toys. Happy Wheels visits approximately 400 children weekly at all 3 children's hospitals in South Carolina. Each child gets to pick out one toy/book of their choice every week for the duration of their admission. They get to keep the gifts and take them home!