One of the most difficult things to see in life is a child lying in a hospital bed hooked up to tubes, needles and monitors. It is a nightmare for parents and other people who love them. It is a big challenge for caregivers and a mission for people who just want to make things better.
Two brothers, Derrick and Brendon Foss, along with their wives, Shannon and Brooke, have experienced these difficult times over the last four years with their young sons. Derrick and Shannon’s son Murray was hospitalized at Children’s Hospital is St. Paul in 2022, and Brendon and Brooke’s son Dak was hospitalized there this year. The couples were often able to share their experiences even though the boys were in different parts of the hospital. Both experienced the unmistakable love and sharing of so many people there.
Murray’s story
Murray was airlifted to Children’s Hospital after an incident on March 14, 2022. Once he arrived there, he was diagnosed with a subdural hematoma and went directly into surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain. He spent the next 25 days at Children’s undergoing many tests and procedures.
Shannon explained that at the time of Murray’s hospitalization, there was still a COVID protocol about visitors in hospitals. Therefore during those days, Murray’s older siblings were not allowed to visit and they were sometimes very confused about what was taking place and concerned about their baby brother.
That is when the kindness of others stepped up through a program at Children’s called Child Life. They came to visit Derrick and Shannon in Murray’s room and gave them resources to share with his siblings. They gave them a book about how hearts can be connected even when the babies are in the hospital. They also gave them toys to help them through the long days and nights of missing their parents.
Derrick and Shannon spent many days at the Ronald McDonald House nearby, and since those days, they have held fundraisers and focused energy on helping this wonderful cause.
After Murray was released from the hospital, he still needed to return often for tests and has had two eye surgeries in the last three years.
Dak’s story
When Brendon and Brooke were excitedly expecting their third child, they were shocked by the news after the 20-week ultrasound. They learned that their baby had problems with his heart and were referred to the Midwest Fetal Center connected to Children’s Hospital. There, they learned their baby had a heart condition called Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) with severe pulmonary stenosis. TOF consists of a hole in the heart, narrowing of the pulmonary arteries, and low oxygen saturations.
Nothing could be done until the baby was born, and once Dak arrived, it was a hectic few weeks. Brooke was required to stay close to the hospital prior to her November 4 induction date in case she went into labor. She was induced and gave birth in the operating room in case emergency surgery was needed. The frightened parents were able to hold Dak briefly before he was taken away for tests.
Dak was placed in the Cardiac Intensive Care unit at Children’s, and Brendon went with him as he was transferred. After only five days, a shunt was placed in his heart to take blood from another artery in order to promote the growth of his pulmonary arteries. Dak remained in the hospital for 22 days while Brendon and Brooke stayed at the Ronald McDonald House.
During this time, they also experienced the love and caring of others. At the Ronald McDonald House, they received their basic needs like food and lodging, but at the hospital, they were given gifts for Dak and his siblings for comfort. Dak was released from the hospital but had to return on May 30 for his second surgery to repair the hole in his heart and the pulmonary artery. His hospital stay was ten days after this surgery.
Dak continues to undergo visits to Children’s for heart monitoring and interventions from his wonderful medical team that work so diligently to keep his heart healthy. Some hospital stays, he has been given simple gifts for comfort from Children’s staff that have been generously donated.
Paying it back
Those gifts are what prompted Brooke and Shannon to decide on a way to give back to the hospital that gave so much to their children. They are currently holding a fundraiser and toy drive for Children’s Hospital, where people can donate gifts or money to be given to other Children’s and families at Children’s Hospital.
They are calling it Dak and Murray’s Season of Smiles a Holiday Toy Drive with the toys distributed to Children’s MN Hospital before Christmas. The best way to give now would be to contact Brooke or Shannon at brooketelly@gmail.com or sdfoss2016@gmail.com. They are hoping to get all donations before December 11 in order to get them to the hospital in time for Christmas.
The gifts and toys may be just a small way for the Foss families to give back to Children’s Hospital for all that was given to them. Shannon summed it up very precisely when she wanted to say to Children’s staff members, “Thanks for giving us his life back.” She added that even though the Lord is in control, he needs the expertise and steady hands of doctors and nurses to carry out his mission.
