ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A pair of Sarasota parents are highlighting the importance of prenatal screenings after their new baby's dramatic birth story — consisting of an early arrival, emergency helicopter flight, and life-saving treatment at Johns Hopkins All-Children's Hospital.
Doctors say Alistair Han Schneider's rare heart defect could have presented catastrophic complications if his parents and health professionals didn't detect and plan for it.
It's called Transposition of the Great Arteries or TGA, which occurs when the two main blood vessels leave the heart in an abnormal position, according to Johns Hopkins. It's a life-threatening congenital condition that requires babies to get surgery immediately.
"His two arteries, they were supposed to be crossed over, but they were parallel next to each other," Alistair's mother, Bonnie Schneider, explained.
Bonnie had planned to deliver Alistair by a scheduled C-section at Johns Hopkins, where a cardiology specialist was ready to perform an emergency operation. However, Alistair arrived earlier than expected and left Bonnie and her husband Ben no time to drive from their home in Sarasota to the hospital in St. Petersburg. They went directly to their local hospital in Sarasota.
"I had to explain to them, well, this is not like a normal labor and delivery story," Bonnie said.
Knowing she'd now give birth in Sarasota, Plan B took shape. They alerted their care team at Johns Hopkins, and suddenly, the care was being brought to the patient. Joining the hospital's transport team, Dr. Jim Thompson flew to Sarasota by helicopter.
"This is the first time we've done something like that," Dr. Thompson, a pediatric cardiologist, said. "The transport team here, they're my new heroes. They're fabulous."
After performing an initial procedure in Sarasota, Dr. Thompson flew back to Johns Hopkins in St. Petersburg with his tiny patient.
Bonnie and her husband joke that their baby was in on this plan.
Bonnie said, "I think Alistair was listening because I had said time and time again, I really don't want anything but how we planned it, I don't want to have to do that. And the joke is that he was listening and he wanted a helicopter ride."
Now, several surgeries later, Alistair is expected to make a full recovery. A testament, this family says, to early screenings and planning.
"Almost 1% of all babies born have something wrong with their heart," Dr. Thompson said. "And having that diagnosis ahead of time certainly helps the whole team be prepared and doing things in a more controlled setting where people aren't rushing around and trying to do things emergently."
Ben Schneider said, "Because we had a plan in place and because they're so good at planning out different protocols, it was a lot easier to handle."
Bonnie and Ben Schneider said Alistair is expected to come home with them sometime later this week.
To learn more about prenatal screenings at Johns Hopkins, click here.