When Jennifer Kraft gave birth to baby Carter, in an instant, she and her husband fell in love.
"He came out screaming like normal," said Matt Kraft, Carter's father. "Doctors were extremely happy."
But that joy was short-lived. Carter was sent straight to the NICU.
"When I couldn't see him, that's when it kicked in," Jennifer Kraft said.
She felt fear as doctors in Florida ran all sorts of tests. The diagnosis wasn't good.
"There was something more going on than fluid in his lungs," Matt Kraft said.
Carter had a rare disorder in his tiny lungs, unable to pump oxygen into his blood. At just 2 weeks old, he needed a double lung transplant -- and fast. Doctors flew him to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston.
"It was scary coming at first, because it was just me and him," Jennifer Kraft said.
Six weeks later, the family got the call. They'd found compatible lungs.
"It all went quick after that," Jennifer Kraft said.
Carter was rushed into surgery.
"He went in at 10 p.m. and came out at 7:30 a.m. the next morning," Jennifer Kraft said.
Ten hours later, this family could breathe again.
"As soon as they took him off bypass, the lungs started working right away," Jennifer Kraft said.
The life-saving surgery was part of a record-breaking year of transplants at Texas Children's Hospital, and one of only three lung transplants performed on children under a year old in 2017 across the country.
"It's a miracle," Jennifer Kraft said.
This mother can't hold back the tears, grateful surgeons gave her precious baby new hope.
"You can imagine having a child born who has a disease that is terminal, and at four months of age, they're given a new lease on life in a child," said Dr. Larry Hollier, Surgeon-in-Chief at TCH.
These parents hadn't heard their son cry since the day he was born, hooked up to machines unable to breathe or make a noise on his own. The sound of crying signals healing.
"They work, the lungs work, I promise," Matt Kraft said.
Now 12 weeks post-op, Carter's scars have healed. His smile is wide, and he and his parents are finally heading home.
