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Meet Jakob “Jake” Fontenot Texarkana, Texas
In 2003, Jake was born a healthy baby, or so it seemed. His doctors were concerned that he was so pale, and after running a few tests, he was diagnosed with congenital heart disease four hours after he was born. Immediately after the diagnosis, the ACH Angel One helicopter was dispatched to Jake’s hometown of Texarkana to pick him up. Jake’s mother, Theresa, was scared for her son and worried about him making the helicopter trip alone, but the Angel One team calmed her fears. “The Angel One flight crew was so calming and reassuring, and they explained everything we should expect over the next few hours,” says Theresa. “We were even given a phone number to call to get updates on Jake as we drove to Little Rock. Angel One has been appropriately named because it was as if Jake was being lifted by an angel.” Once at ACH, Theresa and her husband, Hampton, found out that Jake had been born with seven different heart defects. After undergoing his first surgery, he spent several days in the cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU). Jake’s parents were told that his first open heart surgery would not be his last – he would need two others over the course of the next few years. He was then sent home, but his stay away from the hospital did not last long. Jake and his family returned to ACH five months later for his second heart surgery. The surgery went very well, and Jake again spent time in the CVICU. “The CVICU at Arkansas Children's Hospital is an incredible place, and I can see why it is a model for hospitals across the country,” Theresa says. “It gives us comfort having our child at one of the best heart units in America.” Jake visited ACH in April 2008 for his third heart surgery, which was a success. Theresa notes that although they have a long road ahead, they are not afraid. “At ACH, there is always someone there to explain a medical procedure or help us with the emotional overload that every parent goes through with a child in critical condition,” Theresa says. “ACH takes care of both the patient and the family.” 
Arkansas Children's Hospital, 1 Children’s Way, Little Rock, AR 72202-3591, (501) 364-1100 or TDD (501) 364-1184
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Jake had his first open heart surgery at Arkansas Children's Hospital when he was just 5 days old. 