I was just 19 when I found out I was pregnant with my son. In 2019, I gave birth to Royce a beautiful baby boy who instantly became the center of my world. Like any first-time mom, I was nervous but excited, ready to give him the best life I could. What I wasn’t prepared for was the road that lay ahead of us.
At the age of three months, Royce contracted an upper respiratory infection At first, I thought it was something minor, but as the days passed, his condition grew worse. I took him to the hospital where he was given a shot and sent home. My gut told me something wasn’t right, and sure enough, I was right to trust it., his breathing worsened. Desperate, I took him to another emergency room. This time, they told me it was RSV and reassured me it would just take time. They brushed me off as an anxious first-time mom, but I knew better.
A few days later, his pediatrician called me in after noticing our multiple ER visits. The moment we walked into the office, they knew something was seriously wrong. Royce had difficulty breathing, was dehydrated, and shed no tears when he wept They rushed him to the hospital right away, and he was admitted as soon as we got there.. That week was terrifying, and during that time, we learned his heart was enlarged.
From that moment on, life changed. Royce’s health struggles multiplied. He was constantly sick and in and out of the hospital with one diagnosis after another. In 2020, things got even worse. He was taken to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, where doctors told me he needed emergency surgery.What should have been a short stay turned into weeks of complications, more surgeries, infections, and endless questions from doctors who couldn’t figure out what was happening. Watching my baby boy suffer while having no answers broke me in ways I can’t describe.
Simultaneously, my personal health started to deteriorate. I had faced anxiety since I turned 18, but in May 2021, at the age of 22, I was taken to the ER with my heart racing uncontrollably. They gave me medication to try to stabilize it, but nothing worked. I ended up needing multiple heart surgeries—two of which failed. I spent an entire month in the hospital, away from my son, feeling like my world was collapsing. Because of COVID restrictions, I couldn’t have visitors. I was isolated, fighting for my life while also worrying about Royce. I endured heart attacks, defibrillators, and the terrifying sound of code calls. At such a young age, I couldn’t believe this was happening to me.
Eventually, I was transferred to another hospital where doctors tried again to repair my heart. Some procedures worked temporarily, but the setbacks kept coming. The surgeries failed, the stress on my body triggered another heart attack, and I was left with the devastating news that I might need a transplant. I was told even if I survived a transplant, it might only give me 20 more years. All I could think about was Royce. Twenty years wasn’t enough, I wanted to watch him grow up, go to school, and live a full life.
In the meantime, Royce kept struggling with his own enigmatic ailments. After years of tests, we finally received an answer in November 2021. He was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder that explained many of his struggles. It was both heartbreaking and a relief. At least now we had a name for what was attacking his little body. For two and a half years, I had been dismissed, told I was too young or too inexperienced to understand. But I never stopped pushing, never stopped fighting for him.
Through it all, my faith was the one thing that kept me standing. There were countless nights I wanted to give up. I was exhausted, scared, and overwhelmed. But deep down, I knew God had trusted me with Royce for a reason. I was chosen to be his mother because I would never stop fighting for him. My faith reminded me that no matter how dark it gets, there’s always hope.
Now, as we step into new chapters, Royce is more stable than he once was, and I’m still searching for a hospital willing to take on my complex heart surgery. The road ahead is uncertain, but I refuse to let fear win. Faith over fear, that’s what guides me every single day. My story isn’t finished, and neither is his. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: even when life feels impossible, never stop believing. Faith truly never fails.
