FM
Biography
Matthew and Sarah Hammitt were so excited to add a son to their family of two daughters, Emerson and Claire. Sarah gave birth to Bowen Matthew Hammitt on September 9, 2010, at C. S. Mott Children’s Hospital. As detected by an ultrasound before he was born, Bowen was born with a serious and rare congenital heart defect called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), in which the left side of the heart is severely underdeveloped.
Just a few days after his birth, Bowen, whose name means “small, victorious one,” underwent his first open heart surgery. The surgery went well, but the next night he suffered cardiac arrest and Matt and Sarah feared they would lose him. After an hour of CPR on his tiny chest, still open from the surgery, Bowen was revived and placed on life support. Slowly over the next few weeks, Bowen became stronger and no longer needed to be on life support or even oxygen. However, he had other complications including a stroke and being diagnosed with hyperinsulinism.
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