Critical Pulmonary Stenosis: Dylan Russ Hilig’s story

on Nov 2023 by mommy Ros

My name is Rostan Hilig, 31 years old. I am a first time parent of a newborn baby boy Dylan Russ. Before baby Dylan came to our lives, I was diagnosed with PCOS and was struggling to conceive for 7 long years. When I was pregnant, I kept on working until 38 weeks of gestation. I went beyond my due date which was 42 weeks before I gave birth. During my pregnancy, I was never sick or never took prohibited medicines.

Last March 14, I finally gave birth via cesarean section. My happiness reached to the heavens that God answered our prayers. But after 24 hours, I was devastated to hear my pedia doctor’s suspicion that baby Dylan has a heart defect. The pedia doctor referred us to a pedia cardiologist and he confirmed my baby’s heart condition called critical pulmonary stenosis. We were told that he needed immediate surgery. The difficult part is that it can only be done in the capital city, Manila. Our funds have been depleted from giving birth through cesarean section, and from baby Dylan spending 10 days in Neonatal ICU.

Because of great worry, on March 31, I resigned from my job and my husband who is an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) went back home not finishing his contract. With the last of our gathered savings, we took the risk and bought tickets to Manila. We were hopeful to apply and get approved for a charity package at Philippine Heart Center. We were also hopeful to find help from government offices. Alas! Our hopes were shattered when we were denied boarding the boat because Dylan is not yet 1 month old, and needed extra care for travel because of his condition.

I found myself constantly crying but I realized my tears will not do us any good. I should not give up because my son is dependent on me. I got strength from my son who despite his condition did not give up. I was enlightened reading encouragement from group chats of heart moms who were and are in the same shoes as I am. I saw an FB post of a medical condition and I chatted asking for help. Fortunately, my baby Dylan’s condition is something they can assist and sponsor.

We were supposed to be scheduled on the April 26 mission but with the criticality of Dylan’s condition, we were urged to move up the schedule to April 12. With the help of kind-hearted strangers, we were able to ride a C130 of the Philippine Air Force. We may have lost the last peso of our savings but we were able to get our baby hearts fixed with the help of our sponsors. God is truly good. It is true that there are things God did not allow because there are greater things in store for you. That is why even in the midst of life’s challenges, we should never lose hope. Instead, we put our trust in God even more. What is important is that you do your best. God said, “Do not be afraid.. For I am with you and I will rescue you”. Most of all, always accompanied with prayers for nothing is impossible with the Lord. May our story of denial and failure be an inspiration to us all. Take delight, mommies and daddies. There is hope! God bless us all.