Life is inherently unpredictable, full of unforeseen obstacles and challenges, but it’s crucial to keep fighting and hoping for better days. Chelsea Hough was thrilled to be expecting her first child, and her pregnancy went smoothly. At 36 weeks, she gave birth to a baby boy named Karson Jax Hough.
For the first few minutes of his life, Karson seemed like a perfectly healthy newborn. However, his heartbeats suddenly slowed, and his heart stopped. Doctors tried skin-to-skin contact with his mother, which briefly restarted his heart. To help him breathe, Karson needed a ventilator.
Karson’s grandmother, Lisa Hough, explained, “The only way to explain what has occurred is that this precious young boy has suffered from two extremely unusual illnesses that are absolutely unconnected to one another. One being unidentified as to a reason.” Doctors suspected Karson had a bleed in his left temporal lobe and nonketotic hyperglycinemia (NKH), a rare genetic disorder that causes glycine buildup in the body’s tissues and fluids.
The prognosis was grim, and doctors eventually convinced Karson’s family to turn off his life support. After much deliberation, they decided to follow the doctors’ advice. During their prayer, they were told they would have only about 10 minutes with Karson before he passed away. However, when the ventilator was turned off, the baby began breathing on his own.
The doctors were astonished and called it a miracle. Lisa Hough wrote, “We witnessed a miracle today! We were given 10 minutes after disconnecting the ventilator and intensive care, and we were warned that he would be unable to breathe on his own and that his heart would die within those 10 minutes.
But God and Karson had different ideas! I’m not sure why I thought we weren’t worthy of a miracle… I’m not sure how much time we will have with him, but he is now ours.”
Karson thrived after returning home. His weight is normal, his heart rate is stable, and his glycine levels have significantly decreased. He continues to defy the odds every day. We wish this adorable baby a bright and healthy future.