Carter

The view from the top observation deck of the Eiffel Tower is breathtaking for some, terrifying for others.

Put 4-year-old Carter Williams into the former category.

The vertigo-inducing perch from 900 feet above Paris was no problem for Carter. In fact, it was her favorite part of the Williams family’s recent trip to France.

“She’s kind of a wild thing. She doesn’t get scared,” says her mother, Stacey. “She has no fear.”

And why would she? Especially after all she’s been through.

Carter was born with a congenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia. It’s a potentially fatal deformity characterized by a hole between the two bottom chambers of the heart and the lack of a valve on the pulmonary artery. It causes critically low oxygen levels in babies and is commonly associated with “blue baby syndrome”.

Immediately after she was born, doctors noticed the problem. Her oxygen level wasn’t rising and she wasn’t turning pink like a healthy baby should. Just an hour old, Carter was on her way to Children’s Hospital Central California via ambulance.

She was admitted to Children’s NICU and given a special medication to keep the hole in her heart open until she could undergo surgery.

“If that hole would’ve closed,” says her mom, “she would’ve suffocated and died.”

Two days later, Carter underwent eight hours of open-heart surgery. Renowned cardiac surgeons Dr. Edwin Petrossian and Dr. Frank Hanley performed the procedure, which involved placing a donor valve in Carter’s heart.

The surgery was a success, and less than two weeks later, Carter was home.

“It was awful, but at the same time it was great to be at Children’s,” says Stacey. They made sure that we totally understood what they were talking about. They never left us wondering or confused. They were drawing diagrams, showing us pictures…they were totally honest, totally open, and told us every possibility.”

Today, Carter is doing well and her long-term prognosis looks good. Amazing, considering that her diagnosis was once considered untreatable. She will continue to be monitored at Children’s, and there is a possibility that the donor valve in her heart will someday have to be replaced.

Until that day comes, Carter will keep being the “wild child” she’s always been.

“She’s very outgoing, kind of spunky, and she likes fast things,” says Stacey. “She’s into roller coasters.”

But this daredevil is not without her feminine side. Carter also likes to dress up as her favorite Disney princesses.

“She likes to be fancy,” says Mom.

Sounds like the perfect attire for a night out in The City of Light.

Journey Sponsored by Fresno Lexus
Adventure Sponsored by Premier Valley Bank