Hudsyn may only be 6 years old, but he’s an old soul, according to his mom, Brittany.
In addition to his love for morning coffee with his grandma and deep conversations with his family, Hudsyn enjoys things that most other kids do: playing sports, throwing balls, running, and playing with his older brother.
Brittany is amazed at Hudsyn’s progress. Not long ago, he was in the Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital & Health Network’s PICU recovering from brain surgery and going to physical therapy multiple times a week.
Children’s Hospital & Health Network
Hudsyn was born healthy and happy, but his mom noticed one of his feet was turned inward and seemed weaker than the other when he was about 9 months old. Over time, Hudsyn began suffering from migraines and became increasingly uncoordinated, falling upwards of 20 times a day. Doctors at Mary Bridge Children’s discovered Hudsyn had syringomyelia, a type of fluid-filled cyst that grows within the spinal cord and can impact nerves in the extremities.
Over the next two years, one complication after another led to a total of three surgeries for Hudsyn. “That’s a lot of surgeries for anyone, but it’s really a lot when he’s only 4 years old and they’re operating on his brain,” said Brittany.
Hudsyn worked hard at physical therapy to relearn how to walk for the third time in 18 months and was finally cleared to run and play sports.
Pediatric neurosurgeon Ron Grondin told the family Hudsyn was the first patient he’s operated on three times. Hudsyn wears that distinction like a badge of honor. “Dr. Grondin is Hudsyn’s favorite doctor ever,” said his mom. “They really formed a special relationship.”
While most patients would welcome the reprieve of hospital visits and doctor’s appointments, Hudsyn took it hard. “When Dr. Grondin told us that everything looked great and we didn’t need to come for any more appointments, Hudsyn came home crying because he was devastated he couldn’t see Dr. Grondin anymore,” Brittany said. “He always asks if Dr. Grondin can be his doctor for everything.”
Today, Hudsyn has recovered and is free from follow-up visits. Now he spends his time enjoying preschool and playing on a T-ball team, where his favorite thing is throwing the baseball and running in the field with his friends.
It’s an incredible achievement, but it doesn’t stop Hudsyn from thinking about Dr. Grondin. “He enjoys playing with his doctor kit and pretends to dress and act like Dr. Grondin,” Brittany said. “He even drew pictures for him and sent them with a Christmas card because he really, really misses him.”
Some days it’s hard for his mom to wrap her mind around everything that’s happened. “When he’s not feeling well or gets an occasional headache, he’ll say to me, ‘Maybe it’s time to go back and see Dr. Grondin,’” Brittany said. “Hudsyn is so self-aware, and I always ask if his headache is bad enough to need to go to the hospital, or if he just needs some Tylenol. So far, he’s only needed the medicine, but the way that he thinks about Dr. Grondin just speaks volumes to the impact that Dr. Grondin has had on his young life.”
The original version of this article was published by Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital & Health Network.
