August's Story
When Danielle Overholt shared her son August’s story at CHLA.org/SHARE, we asked her if we could feature her son's story for our August fundraising campaign.
It was more than his unusual name that caught our attention during these hot summer months – it was his joyful spirit and his family’s unwavering hope.
 August's Heart
A Journey of the Heart
By August's mom, Danielle
When I was pregnant with my 3rd child, an ultrasound revealed that my son, August had an arrhythmia in his heart. The doctors were aware, but not too concerned. His birth was a miracle in itself.
On August 30, 1995, My water broke, I arrived at the hospital at 6am and our sweet little guy was born at 6:47 a.m.!
He came out a little blue and not breathing and he had to be rescuscitated at birth. He was taken away from us right away for testing and was diagnosed with Transposition of the Great Vessels and other smaller defects.
“By a miracle, we were sent to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, where the care was phenomenal!” - Danielle, August’s mom
We went home for a few months with a blue baby who slept 20 hours a day on average. Children with this heart disease can live up to about 2 years at most with no surgery. The doctors wanted to wait until he got a little stronger to do any type of procedure.
 My two children would wait so patiently for him to wake up and rejoice and get so excited to spend those few hours with him each day. Stunned and struggling at first, we began this journey of tests, surgeries, hospital stays, doctors, tears, fears and even joys with lots of prayer!
When he was 4 months old, doctors reversed the flow of blood in his heart with the Senning repair, to have it pump backwards and maybe function like a normal heart. We were sent home with his pacemaker and CPR training.
We had 7 perfect years of health and never relying on the pacemaker, but the heart is not meant to pump this way and failed. We thought that August had pneumonia as he was out of breath and could not walk without being winded. His condition worsened and he began projectile vomiting and we immediately took him to the ER.
We would have never imagined that we would be told that our little guy was in heart failure. But sure enough, we were about to begin the next phase of his heart issues.
By a miracle, we were sent to Children's where the care was phenomenal! Dr. Starnes and Dr. Silka are amazing. They earnestly tried to fix his heart with 3 more surgeries in two years, but to no avail. His heart was worn out and it was compared to an old man's heart.
August then almost 9 years old, went on a transplant list as his heart was very weak and quickly worsening. He would jump or fall like any normal boy while playing, but this would get his heart rhythms out of sync and he would need to have it shocked back to a normal rhythm.
It was at this time that the old pacemaker from the first surgery kicked in and began to help pick up beats for him. Thank God for good batteries!
Then, our miracle came. We got a call that he would receive a very strong heart after only 20 days on the list! August was thrilled! He helped prep himself for the surgery. He helped remove caps and things for the nurses, spread the Betadine soap on his skin, and was just such a joy to everyone he came in contact with that day. He hadn't eaten for 27 hours, but did not complain once.
He has definitely been given the grace of God to handle this life of his. Transplant is a very difficult journey in itself. There is a lot of pain, suffering, endless tests and medications for life.
Seventeen days after his transplant, August went home, in a giant limo and was greeted by all the neighbors on our street, waving and standing out on the street.
The past six and a half years post-transplant have been both challenging and wonderful. It is challenging to August in his patience, medication adjustments and continual testing of his heart. But, the wonderful part is that we have a beautiful healthy boy, that we get to enjoy each day. The team at CHLA have been phenomenal! Dr. Menteer, August's cardiologist, has such a sweet connection with August and they are good friends as well. We now attend the heart clinic every three months and every station of testing is equipped with wonderful nurses and technicians, we love the staff at Children's. We are so thankful that God brought us here, and that through lots of prayer, we have a healthy 15 year old son. He surfs with his dad, enjoys volleyball and has boundless energy. We are truly thankful for every day.
Nearly 8,000.
 That's how many children rely on our leading Heart Institute that repaired August’s heart every year.
We’re proud of the way Children’s Hospital Los Angeles treats kids better. But we couldn’t do it without your support.
Your donation helps provide hope for a healthy future for children like August.
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