HINGHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - A 3-month-old baby boy spent several months undergoing a series of life-saving surgeries at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Baby Kobe came to Boston with his family from North Carolina for treatment after he was born with a rare blood vessel malformation in his brain.
His mom Shae Lewallen said that when he was born, his heart made up 90 percent of his chest.
“It’s at 40 percent now so progress has been so amazing and he was able to come off his heart medication that he was on his whole life last week,” said. “I mean, he is just a completely different baby. I mean you can see he is totally normal.”
Kobe’s dad Ken Lewallen said the family dropped everything to get their son the treatment he needed which meant temporarily moving all the way to Hingham where community members welcomed them with open arms.
“It makes me feel good knowing that the decisions we made back in February… we’re able to rejoice and be thankful for getting the proper surgeon to take care of him getting through all the surgeries and now making a great recovery from something he was not given that much of a chance for,” Ken said. “It makes my day better.”
The community of Hingham rallied around the family, offering them with places to stay, food, and babysitting for their other two sons for all 97 days he was hospitalized.
Now, after seven long surgeries, Kobe is getting physical therapy in hopes of getting to the point where he can breathe and eat on his own.
He has also grown four inches and weighs 13 pounds.
“He’s made it this far so I figured would cheer him on so I can get a little credit when he’s older,” Shae said.
She is proud of his progress.
“His heart function continues to improve, his brain health is fantastic. He’s neurologically, as far as we know, normal right now. So I mean, it’s been amazing,” she said.
The family is hoping to head home within the next six weeks.
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