Heart to Heart

Ryan and Cole Allison are typical Arkansas boys who love camping, deer hunting, fishing, sports and video games — until you hear about their hearts. They were born with a rare hereditary condition, long QT syndrome, which disrupts the heart’s rhythm and can be life-threatening if left untreated. Their father, Bobby, was also born with long QT syndrome and received care at Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH).

As babies, both Ryan and Cole underwent procedures to implant devices that would help manage their condition. Ryan received his implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) at 15 months old. Two years later, 5-month-old Cole had a pacemaker placed.

For the Allisons, ACH has been a constant — not just a hospital, but a place where skilled providers and familiar faces have guided them through every twist and turn.

A Routine Surgery Turns Critical

Over the years, Ryan faced several procedures, handling them with remarkable ease. “Ryan knew all the anesthesiologists, he’d joke with them,” says his mother, Leslie. “For Ryan to go back to the OR as many times as he did, he never really batted an eye.”

But when doctors determined in 2023 that Cole needed his pacemaker replaced with an ICD, Leslie worried the experience might be harder on her younger son.

“Cole, on the other hand — I knew they had one shot. He’s not a fan of needles. Any of this.”

Having seen the excellent care Ryan received during previous surgeries, Leslie asked for the same cardiothoracic surgeon: Dr. Lawrence Greiten.

Cole’s pre-op assessments went smoothly. The procedure — scheduled as the first of the day — was expected to last 90 minutes. But after several hours had gone by, Leslie’s gut told her something was wrong.

Soon after, Dr. Greiten and cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Brian Reemtsen entered the waiting room with news that made time stand still.

“I could tell by the look on Dr. Greiten’s face that something wasn’t right,” Leslie recalls. “We did not expect to hear the words that came out of his mouth.”

Cole had coded twice during the procedure. He was either having a major allergic reaction to anesthesia or experiencing a coronary event, and they had rushed him to a hybrid catheterization lab and operating room to investigate further.

Uncovering A Hidden Threat

There, Cole’s cardiologist, Dr. Jeffrey Orcutt, joined the team. Together with several other cardiologists, they discovered the cause: The pacemaker’s lead wire, which had been intentionally left long to accommodate Cole’s growth, had wrapped around his heart. When the team tried to attach the wire to the new ICD, it had caused Cole to go into cardiac arrest.

When Cole was in the cath lab, he coded a third time. With no time to spare, Dr. Greiten made the call to remove the device, the leads and the wire entirely — a lifesaving surgery.

Leslie and Bobby prayed.

When surgery finally concluded, their sweet 10-year-old son, who hated needles, was placed on a ventilator and ECMO (a heart/lung bypass machine), his chest open. Hours later, his chest began filling with blood, and Dr. Greiten performed a bedside procedure to place an additional stitch in Cole’s heart.

Recovery And Resilience

The bedside procedure stopped the bleeding, and Cole’s chest remained open for four more days until his condition stabilized. When his chest was closed, he rallied. Within 48 hours, Cole was breathing on his own, his tubes were removed and he was awake.

Cole was discharged two weeks after surgery, just in time for Mother’s Day. Remarkably, a year later, a cardiac MRI showed his heart had sustained no lasting damage — a miracle, given what he endured.

But the family wasn’t through with heart surgeries just yet.

That December, Ryan began having issues with his own ICD. The following March, the cardiology and cardiac surgery teams partnered together to both replace and relocate the device to his upper chest.

After Ryan recovered from his surgery, the family was again grateful for the coordination and teamwork in caring for their son.

A Team They Could Trust

Reflecting on their journey, the Allisons feel deeply grateful for the people who stood by them — especially Dr. Greiten.

“My husband summed it up best after we got home,” says Leslie. “He said, ‘We had no idea five years ago when we met Dr. Greiten that he was going to save Cole. He’s the man in my book.’”

If Ryan hadn’t needed earlier procedures, the Allisons might never have met the surgeon who would go on to play such a critical role in Cole’s survival. They might not have been surrounded by all the incredible people who supported them at Arkansas Children’s that agonizing night — like the APRN who jumped onto the table to administer chest compressions every time Cole coded, or the anesthesiologist who had a gut feeling to do a full intubation rather than just a partial intubation, which ended up saving precious seconds in the moment of crisis.

Today, whenever she sees Dr. Greiten, Leslie can’t help but hug him. And every year, the family sends a gift on the anniversary of when Dr. Greiten and his team saved Cole’s life. Leslie says they are Cole’s guardian angels and the family’s heroes.

“It’s a day that’s forever etched in our memories,” Leslie says. “Any time we see them, we thank them.”