Landon's Legacy: Family hopes to save babies from heart defects

1 in 100 babies born with heart defect

NOVI, Mich. – Landon Ryder Bertin faced an uphill battle before he was even born.

"(He was) definitely a fighter from the start. We went through a lot before he even came into this world," said Heather Bertin, Landon's mother. "I was in a major car accident when I was about eight or nine weeks pregnant, and he survived that."

A complicated pregnancy followed, with Bertin suffering bleeding, high blood pressure and, ultimately, pre-eclampsia, forcing doctors to deliver Landon early.

"He came out kicking and screaming at 36 weeks," Bertin said.

But joy quickly turned to concern. Landon was struggling to breathe.  

"They were going to take him into the intensive care unit, just to keep an eye on him," said Brian Bertin, Landon's father.  "It was like the middle of the night when they woke us up to tell us that there was an issue."

Landon was rushed to another hospital where doctors discovered a heart defect.

"He was diagnosed, officially, with pulmonary atresia with VSD. It's a ventricular septal defect," Heather Bertin said.

According to the March of Dimes, nearly one in 100 babies in the United States is born with a heart defect, making it the most common type of birth defect.

Some heart defects are detected before birth during ultrasounds. Landon's wasn't, at least not officially.

"Call it mother's intuition, I guess, but I sort of felt something wasn't right the entire time," Heather Bertin said.

Landon spent six weeks in the hospital before he was ready for his first heart surgery. He would need another down the road, but he was allowed to go home.

"To actually have him home, to be able to feed him and cuddle with him, it was just amazing," said Heather Bertin.

Big sister Addison was thrilled to finally have her brother at home. It seemed like everything was going great.

"Definitely, you had to pay attention to him. He'd let you know if he was in the room, and he'd give you a little squeal," said Brian Bertin.

When Landon was 4 1/2 months old, he had to go to back to the hospital to have surgery on his bowels.

"It was supposed to be routine. The doctors told us it would be pretty simple, in and out," said Heather Bertin. 

On the way to to the hospital, Heather and Brian Bertin snapped a picture of Landon. It would be the last one they would ever take of their smiley baby boy.

"The doctor came out, and the world kind of collapsed right there and then. He said something happened. He didn't make it," Brian Bertin said. "That was tough. Your only boy."

Landon's heart stopped beating during the surgery.

"When you have a child, you never imagine you would be told your baby died," Heather Bertin said. "The next thought that went through my head was, 'How are we going to explain it to Addison?  How are we going to tell her her little brother wasn't coming home?'"

It's been almost three years since that devastating day. There's been a new addition to the family -- baby Max. 

"Max was definitely our miracle baby," Heather Bertin said. "We weren't intending on having any more children since we didn't know if Landon's heart defect was genetic or otherwise.  I did not want to take that chance again. But obviously, God and Landon had other plans for us."

Doctors monitored Max's heart closely during the pregnancy and found no issues.

"He came out nice, plump, almost 9 pounds with a perfect heart. So that was an amazing day," Heather Bertin said. "I really think Landon sent him to us. If you look at him, he has a little white patch of hair up here and Landon had blonde hair, so I always think that that's a part of Landon who came back to us."

A simple test with a pulse oximetry, "pulse ox," is now mandatory for newborns in Michigan. It can help spot potential heart problems that were undetected before birth.

"Before this happened, I had never heard of congenital heart defects," Heather Bertin said. "(It) definitely was not on my radar for sure, which it should be. Being the most common birth defect, you would think so."

The Bertins are determined to help spare others from their pain.

Last fall, their team, "Landon's Heart & Sole," participated in the Michigan Congenital Heart Walk and raised more than $2,000.

This February, during Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week, the mayor of Novi issued a proclamation in Landon's honor for the Bertin family's efforts to raise awareness.

"We never thought we would have a child with a broken heart," Heather Bertin said. "There definitely needs to be more awareness, definitely more funding, so that they can do the research and help these children, and hopefully, hearing Landon's story and doing our part in the world, we can change the story for another family."

It's a legacy for Landon.

"From day one, he was definitely a fighter, an amazing little boy," Heather Bertin said.

The 2015 Southeast Michigan Congenital Heart Walk will be held Sept. 26 at Boulan Park in Troy. To find out more details or to sign up, click here.

  • To make a donation to "Landon's Heart & Sole" Team, click here.
  • To learn more about congenital heart defects, click here.
  • To read more about Landon's story, click here.