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Heartbroken parents speak out after the tragic death of their eight-week-old baby from complications of heart surgery
- Raevyn Harper lost her battle with sepsis she contracted after heart surgery
- Parents Storm Petersen and Jarred Harper opened up about their ordeal
- Tragic baby Raevyn suffered from rare and complex heart conditions
A baby will “never be forgotten” after tragically passing away at just eight weeks old.
Raevyn Harper lost her battle with sepsis which she contracted after undergoing heart surgery to combat a rare condition.
Parents Storm Petersen and Jarred Harper have spoken about their ordeal.
The couple discovered that Raevyn suffered from rare and complex heart conditions, including a transposition of his arteries, a double outlet right ventricle, and a large subpulmonary ventricular septal defect.
The couple said they were “filled with love and great joy” at becoming new parents.
The couple discovered their baby boy had two heart conditions when he was just 19 weeks old.
The new moms and dads talked about how the joy of becoming new parents quickly turned to pain.
“As new parents, our hearts were full of love and so much joy, but I became so fragile learning about these conditions that our little girl would have to face…but every day that she grew, so did my undying love.” wrote about her diagnosis.
At just one month old, she was rushed to the ER after failing to wake up.
They did a chest X-ray and told us that there was fluid around his heart, lungs, and that his liver was swollen. Our daughter had heart failure,’ they said.
They took her to heart surgery, where after 10 hours her parents were told the operation had been a success.
They said the heart surgeon “explained that the surgery was a success, which was a relief, but that would just be the only good news we would get from then on.”
The couple say they were told the heart operation was a success, but that it was the last good news they would receive.
The couple discovered that Raevyn suffered from rare and complex heart conditions, including a transposition of her arteries.
Soon after, the girl’s health worsened when doctors discovered a haemorrhage in her lungs.
Just four hours later, he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of sepsis, which caused many of his organs to fail.
“Due to low blood flow and damage to her tissues, her fingers, hands, feet, and toes were black and purple and wasting away,” her parents said.
After nearly three weeks of battling health issues, Raevyn “grew her wings and lost her battle with sepsis” on Nov. 19.
“She fought every day of her precious life and is the bravest and strongest girl I will ever meet,” her parents said.
“She was the sunshine that brightened our whole lives, but now without her gift, her father and I feel very dark and flowery. She will never be forgotten our Raevyn.’
His mom and dad have now issued a heartbreaking plea, creating a GoFundMe campaign for his funeral.
“Please help us give Raevyn, our little ray of sunshine, the send-off he truly deserves,” they said at the event.
“No donation is too big or small as it will go towards our Raevyns funeral service in Gladstone QLD.”
More than $6,000 of his $10,000 goal has been issued so far, with 17 days until his funeral on December 19.
A link to the campaign can be found. here.