Harrison Thomas Mann showed up 113 days early and weighed 21 ounces at birth.He was as long as a Barbie doll. His head was the size of a tennis ball, his feet 1 inch long.
The doctors offered little hope to his parents, Dawn Hill and Thomas Mann of Lancaster.
"The doctors told us you can hold him now and let him die in your arms or put it off until later," Hill recalls.
No, they said. We'll try everything first.
That meant months in neonatal intensive care, fighting through multiple surgeries, blood transfusions, a brain hemorrhage, collapsed lungs, ruptured intestines, kidney failure and jaundice.
But this beautiful Sunday morning, despite the odds, is Harrison's first birthday.
"There were so many dark days, and to be actually celebrating is extremely exciting," Mann said Friday.
He's now 15 1/2 pounds and 26 inches long, wears clothes to fit a 9 month old.
As his parents talked, he played nearby on a blanket. Flat on his back, he grabbed his bare toes and cooed. Then he rolled onto his tummy and began playing with toys.
He gets a little fussy when he's hungry, Hill said. Other than that, he is calm and good-natured. He rarely cries.
"I didn't realize how I would feel talking about it," Hill said, wiping away a tear. "We have been in survival mode for a year now."
Mann left the room several times, bringing back cherished mementos. He brought a tiny diaper, a miniature stocking cap, the paper with inch-long footprints, and finally Hill's journal – 83 handwritten pages of hopes, fears and milestones.
No warning of trouble
Hill and Mann have been together five years. She is 40 and works at Home Depot. He's 32, a restaurant cook.
They moved to Lancaster from Michigan in 2013. Hill's parents had made the move a few years before. Other than that, they have no family here.
They each have children from previous relationships. Hill's two daughters are in college, and Mann's two daughters live out of state.
The couple welcomed the news when Hill became pregnant. Nothing unusual happened until late last September, when her water broke at 22 weeks.
She rushed to Springs Memorial Hospital, where her obstetrician was waiting. He transferred her to Palmetto Health Richland in Columbia, hoping to delay the onset of labor until week 34.
Harrison was not onboard with that plan, and on Oct. 2, he stuck his foot through the birth canal and entered the world feet first, with the odds stacked high against him.
The doctors offered very little hope, Hill and Mann said. The nurses offered a bit more. The couple refused to accept any option other than their son would survive.
Severe complications
Within the first week, Harrison's bowel ruptured, prompting emergency surgery. After removing half of his infected small intestine, the surgeon told them the baby's condition was "not compatible with life."
The hospital chaplain visited the couple. Hill and Mann stood firm and agreed if their baby had any chance, any chance at all, they would not take him off life support.
After bowel surgery, the medical team advised the parents that a future bowel transplant would be necessary and he would likely rely on intravenous nutrition his entire life.
Hill and Mann both said they were ready for whatever extra challenges came with their little baby.
"We will take care of whatever comes," Mann told the doctors.
Hill lived at the Ronald McDonald House for the first few months. Mann commuted every day from his job back home.
The waiting room of the neonatal intensive care unit was always filled with nervous parents facing unknown futures.
Hill crocheted tiny stocking hats and blankets for the babies in incubators next to Harrison's. The haunting reality was that some of the babies would not go home alive.
"You just knew because you would not see the parents any more in the waiting room," Mann said.
At last, improvement
After months of endless, severe complications, things began to improve at the first of the year. Harrison, who had been on a ventilator, started breathing on his own.
He had his third and final intestinal surgery in January, and the doctors told them that Harrison would be able to eat solid food.
He came home April 7. The couple had expected him to need an oxygen tank and a heart monitor, but he has only a feeding tube, which will be removed as he transitions fully to solid food. There's no more talk of a bowel transplant.
Harrison receives physical therapy once a week, and Kim Hamilton, an early intervention specialist, visits him every Thursday.
"He is such a sweet little man and is so attentive when I talk to him," Hamilton said. "His mom is so involved and supportive."
Hill is back at her job on the service desk at Home Depot three nights a week. Mann cooks breakfast and lunch at the Bob Evans restaurant in Rock Hill. Their schedules allow one of them to be with Harrison at all times.
The couple expressed gratitude for the support of family, friends and employers.
"People we didn't even know were adding us to their prayer chains and asking their churches to pray for him," Hill said. "We are forever grateful for that, because we truly believe that is the reason he got through."
MANDY CATOE/mcatoe@thelancasternews.com
10/2/16
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