Expertise was far, far away
When Saima and Thomas discovered that their son, Daniel, had a heart defect, they explored treatment options near Austin but, ultimately, had no choice but to go to Houston for the advanced level of care Daniel would need. After Daniel’s birth, Saima and Daniel stayed in Houston for three months while Thomas and Laila, their oldest child, lived in Austin and traveled to Houston on the weekends.
When the time was right, Daniel was prepared for surgery and underwent a highly complicated and improvisatory 15-hour surgical procedure that saved his life.
Today, Daniel is a happy, healthy nine-and-a-half-year-old. He has no restrictions on his activity and has many friends. And Dr. Fraser, the surgeon who saved Daniel’s life, is now in Austin leading efforts to assemble a world-class team of surgeons and medical staff at Dell Children’s so that children like Daniel won’t have to leave Austin to get the specialized care they need.
“We have been that family—the family that needs to split apart and live in two different cities in order to save one child’s life and support the emotional life of another. We are so hopeful that the stress and upheavel we experienced, won’t be necessary in the future.”
— Saima, Daniel’s Mother
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