8-Month-Old Baby Arrives In Boston For 7th Open-Heart Surgery
BOSTON (CBS) - A little baby from New York, who has spent half her life in Boston for medical treatment, came back Wednesday to face her seventh open-heart surgery.
Piper Paddock turns eight months next week. Even before she was born her parents knew she needed the best care possible to save her life. That's where Boston's Children's Hospital comes in.
It's a normal sight at Norwood airport as small planes come and go, but one landed carrying precious cargo. Piper Paddock and her mother and father arrived for the next part of their extensive medical journey in Boston.
That's because Piper was born with a serious heart defect that doctors where they live in western New York state couldn't treat.
"We searched and searched and found the most amazing doctors over at Boston's Children's Hospital," says Gia Paddock, Piper's mother.
Gia and Tim Paddock knew what their daughter faced before she was born, so they prepared. Piper was born at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and moved directly to Children's.
"She was delivered at 39 weeks and 1 day, and she had immediate surgery, open heart surgery about 36 hours after she was born," Gia says.
The family is back in Boston for Piper's seventh open-heart surgery.
"It's like our second home," Gia says.
"This will be our third trip to Boston and we've been in Boston total about four months," adds Tim Paddock.
That's half of Piper's young life. "There's so much hope for these kids, and these surgeons and doctors are amazing," says Piper's mom.
The family received an extra helping hand Wednesday. Their flight was courtesy of PALS, Patient Airlift Services, a volunteer group that transports patients at no cost.
The drive from their home would have taken about eight hours, but the flight was just an hour.
Mark Hanson from Norwell has over 100 of these types of flights under his belt. "We can go and feel like we're giving back and making a real difference in the lives of these people. There's so few opportunities in life to do that," he says.
Piper's mother and father are both NY State Troopers and have received a lot of support from their colleagues there, and from Mass. State Troopers.
A Go Fund Me page has been set up to help the family pay for expenses while they're in Boston.
