BLYTHEWOOD – What should be one of the happiest times in Alex and Brittany Cauthen’s lives has become a time of uncertainty. The Ridgeway couple is preparing for the birth of their first child, a baby boy who will face multiple heart surgeries, beginning within days of his birth.
To help the couple through the difficult months ahead, Blythewood Oil Company is sponsoring a Boston butt fundraiser, organized by employee Meghan Mehaffey and other employees, with all proceeds going to help cover the Cauthens’ living expenses during the months they will stay in Charleston for their baby’s treatment at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC).
The fundraiser will be held on Saturday, Dec. 5, with orders available for pickup from 5 to 7 p.m. at the lot on the corner of Blythewood Road and Highway 21, next to Palmetto Pediatrics.
Fully cooked Boston butts, prepared by Country Brothers Catering, will be sold for $50 each. Blythewood Oil is donating the Boston butts, and Country Brothers Catering is donating the catering services.
The fundraiser is by preorder only. Orders can be placed by emailing meghan@blythewoodoil.com or calling Blythewood Oil at 803-754-3319. Payment can be made by cash, card or Venmo.
A Complicated Diagnosis
Alex, 33, said he and Brittany, 32, first learned something might be wrong during a routine ultrasound when she was approximately 20 weeks pregnant.
Doctors were unable to clearly see the individual chambers of the baby’s heart and referred the couple for additional testing. Further examinations at Prisma Health Richland Hospital led to a referral to MUSC in Charleston, where specialists determined that the baby has a rare condition called heterotaxy, along with several serious heart abnormalities.
“It’s actually pretty complicated,” Alex said. “He’s got a lot of stuff going on.”
Heterotaxy is a condition in which internal organs develop in abnormal positions and can be associated with complex congenital heart defects, he said.
In addition, Alex said, the baby’s stomach and gallbladder are in reversed positions, and he will be born without a spleen. The baby’s kidneys and lungs appear normal.
“But the greatest concern is his heart,” he said.
Alex explained that the baby’s heart has several structural abnormalities, including arteries that have not developed or connected as they should. Doctors also believe the baby’s heart may have what is known as a single-ventricle abnormality, rather than the normal separation of the two ventricles.
Surgeons expect to perform procedures to redirect blood flow through the heart, possibly within the first week after birth.
“They’re not going to be able to tell until he’s born, so they can do an echo and a CAT scan directly on him,” Alex said.
He said doctors anticipate the baby may need two heart surgeries during his first week of life, followed by another operation when he is approximately six months to a year old.
One of the major questions is whether surgeons will be able to establish two functioning ventricles or whether the baby will require a single-ventricle surgical approach.
The latter, Alex said, could mean the possibility of a heart transplant later in life.
The full extent of the baby’s condition and the precise surgical plan cannot be determined until after birth, Alex said.
The couple has been told to expect their son to remain hospitalized in Charleston for approximately six to eight weeks after his expected mid-December birth, although Alex said they are hopeful they may be able to bring him home sooner.
Brittany is expected to be induced approximately Dec. 15-18, about a week before Christmas.
The couple purchased a home in Ridgeway about a year ago. Brittany, a former Erskine College soccer player, has completed her studies toward a doctorate in physical therapy and had been preparing for her licensing board examinations. Those plans have been postponed as the couple prepares for the baby’s arrival.
Alex, who has worked as a truck driver for Blythewood Oil for approximately eight years, said the generosity of his fellow employees and the Sharpe family has meant a great deal.
“They came up with this,” he said. “It means a lot to us.”
Despite the uncertainty surrounding their son’s birth and the surgeries that will follow, Alex remains hopeful.
“A little bit longer process,” he said, “but we’ll get there.”