Dallas boy with rare heart defect nicknamed 'Frank the Tank' on road to recovery
Dallas boy with rare heart defect nicknamed 'Frank the Tank' on road to recovery
At just three days old Frank Nystrom's future was uncertain. Quick thinking from the staff at Children's Medical Center Dallas helped save the young boy's life.
DALLAS - It is the kind of ordinary day the Nystrom family doesn't take for granted, snuggled up on the sofa at their home in Dallas, but days like these were always guaranteed.
In November 2022, Frank Nystrom, then just days old, nearly died.
"I could tell he really couldn't breathe," said Sarah Nystrom, the boy's mother.
His parents rushed Frank to Children's Medical Center Dallas.
His temperature was an alarming 91.4 degrees Fahrenheit.
"We heard we can't find a pulse we can't find a pulse. Started chest compressions," said Eric Nystrom, Frank's dad.
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"I wanted to scream, but I didn't want them to make me leave," said Sarah.
Staff at the emergency room performed a bedside cardiac ultrasound where doctors noticed part of his heart had diminished function and some enlargement.
"It actually is life-threatening because it blocks off the blood supply to the lower half of the body," said Dr. Jake Jaquiss, a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon at Children's Health in Dallas.
Frank had a rare heart defect.
After spending four days on a heart-lung machine in the cardiovascular ICU, Jaquiss performed Frank's first open-heart surgery.
"So there was a small procedure that we can do called pulmonary artery bending to re-balance things appropriately. That allowed his body to complete his recovery, particularly with regard to kidney function and other organs," said Dr. Jaquiss.
A second surgery was performed by Jaquiss about a month later.
He says Frank will need to be monitored by a cardiologist, but should lead a healthy life.
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His parents are grateful to everyone watching over him that fateful day.
"I feel like God's hand was on Frank and really protected him from so much worse," said Sarah.
"I got to give a bear hug to the young man in his 20s who was giving chest compressions to Frank for 45 minutes, and he said ‘I was just doing my job.’ It just struck me. Is that not what it means to be the hands and feet of Jesus, just doing your job and saving lives?" said Eric.
February is American Heart month so his parents felt compelled to share their story with other parents.
His caregivers nicknamed him ‘Frank the Tank’ for his ongoing strength to keep fighting.