The newborn son of a CTX state trooper and school counselor was born with holes in his heart.
But, the family is now in good spirits thanks to a successful surgery and the overwhelming support of their community.
"Our other son is a perfect, happy, healthy little boy, and we assumed we were having a second one just like that," Jera Freeman, Casen's mother said.
On May 18th, the Freeman's second son, Casen... was born with three holes in his heart and needed open heart surgery before he was even three months old.
"When he was four days old, he was started on Lasix to start pulling the fluid off of his lungs because the hole that he has dumps blood into his lungs rather than having it pump into his heart," Freeman added.
"He has spent the majority of his life in a hospital. He was at Scott & White for a little while and then they moved him to Texas Children's. They knew all along he would have surgery at Texas Children's, but he came down with a virus, so that put him in the hospital a little sooner than they anticipated," Jennifer Farmer, Casen's aunt, said.
So after months of waiting, last Thursday, Casen went through a six-hour surgery to patch the holes on his tiny heart.
"We've had so many close and personal friends send us gift cards, money... we have tons of people praying for us and really that's all we wanted... we just asked for prayers. But, the community - both Copperas Cove and Lampasas has been so supportive," Freeman said.
On the day of Casen's surgery, hundreds of people wore red in his honor, including local schools and businesses.
"Lampasas is a small town, and we know each other well and care about each other. We've known the Freemans and the Canales' for a long time, and we've been hoping and praying and worrying with them through this process," Neal Leavell, the Dentist at the Lampasas Dental Center, said.
Casen is showing signs of improvement and might be moving out of ICU soon. The Freeman's hope to come home in the next few weeks.
"My husband and I stay here 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and so we're here and it's definitely a journey... it's something you have to take day by day... you know, baby steps... but, we're moving forward so that's always good," Freeman added.
If you would like to donate to the Casen's Heart Journey, you can find their GoFundMe account here.
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