Editor’s Note: This is the first of a series of stories on miracles.
Two-year-old Titus Pace of Sumrall is a little boy full of energy, just like most toddlers are. Sitting on the lap of his mother, Mary Ann Pace, Titus looks poised ready to take off and explore his surroundings. Watching him, one would never know that the boy is a walking miracle.
The family recently celebrated the first anniversary of his successful heart surgery after enduring one problem after another within the first 18 months of his life.
Mary Ann said when Titus was born on July 11, 2019, everyone believed that he was a healthy baby boy. There was a concern that his breathing was distressed, but after two echocardiograms with good results, he was discharged to go home and join his parents and two siblings.
Mary Ann said Titus would experience projectile vomiting, which hindered him from gaining weight. Within the first six months of his life, Titus would be hospitalized twice, once with the flu and the other respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), in addition to the multiple visits they made to their doctor.
“He was the happiest and sweetest baby, so they thought he was just a small guy,” Mary Ann said.
One night in February 2020, after she had bathed him, she laid him down with just a diaper on. She noticed his breathing and knew something wasn’t right. Mary Ann took a video of his breathing and sent it to a nurse practitioner friend, who told her to take Titus to the pediatrician immediately.
On Feb. 3, Titus was taken to Forrest General Hospital where it was discovered his oxygen saturation level was in the low 70% range when it should be somewhere between 95%-100%. Other than providing intravenous fluids, the hospital did not do a lot. However, an ambulance was called to transport them to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson for further evaluation.
“I was stressed because they said it may take three to four hours waiting on an ambulance. God just showed out because an ambulance was in the parking lot, with the crew deciding on where to eat,” Mary Ann said.
Titus turned turn blue from the breathing issues, and they immediately put him in the Intensive Care Unit in Jackson. While looking for what was causing the issues, an X-ray was done on Titus’ heart that revealed his heart was so enlarged that he was considered to be in heart failure. A heart catheterization was performed on Feb. 5, but it wasn’t until after the procedure that the Paces learned Titus was lucky to be alive.
Dr. William Moskowitz, a pediatric cardiologist, delivered the shocking news that he was surprised that Titus survived six months at home in his current condition.
It was discovered Titus has Scimitar Syndrome which is where a vessel that should route through the heart is not present. It meant that Titus’ blood unable to circulate and travel to his organs. Mary Ann said because of this, while in utero, his body made more vessels to compensate for this, causing his right lung to fill up with blood.
Moskowitz told Mary Ann, “I don’t know what you did, but he is a special boy to live that long at home.”
Not only Titus suffering from the syndrome, but he also had a hole in his heart. Because he could not get healthy oxygen into his lungs, it caused him to develop pulmonary hypertension. This was the first time in more than 20 years the hospital had a case of Scimitar Syndrome.
To make matters worse, Titus developed strep pneumonia and Hib virus, a sickness in the meningitis family, right after his heart cath.
“We had no idea if his heart would survive or if he could beat meningitis,” Mary Ann said while tearing up.
The doctors told Titus’ parents that if he made it, he would probably be discharged and placed on hospice care. Mary Ann and her husband, Justin, knew the doctors were trying to prepare them, but they rejected that notion.
Titus finally opened his eyes after 10 days. He spent 52 days in the ICU before being transferred to a regular room. During this time, Mary Ann and Justin would swap places for someone to stay with the children at home and the hospital with Titus. Eventually, he was discharged at the beginning of April.
During all of this, friends and family did fundraisers and benefits to support the family.
After coming home, Titus was hospitalized twice for respiratory issues within the first six months. He had to see the cardiologist at least once a month, however by October, he had to be seen weekly because his heart was getting worse. In fact, in October 2020, he was deemed to be in heart failure a second time.
It was decided then that he had to have surgery. He was on oxygen for pulmonary hypertension and being treated with strong medicines with serious side effects.
The surgery was on Nov. 12, 2020. The success of the surgery was dependent upon whether Titus’ vessels were mature enough to reroute through his heart so it could start circulating the good blood throughout his body. The family was warned that the surgery may not be successful.
“We really prayed that his vessels would be mature,” Mary Ann said, wiping away tears.
The surgery was slated to last up to six hours but ended sooner. When they met with the doctor, the doctor told them not only were the vessels mature enough, but there were no complications. The surgery was a rousing success.
Since the surgery, Titus has been able to breathe normally without oxygen. The pulmonary hypertension is still there and still high, but the doctors said that it will probably always stay high. He was able to come completely off the major medications he had to take for his heart and lungs, by May this year.
Throughout his difficult journey, Mary Ann said Titus kept fighting. Because of all of the sickness he had been through, he was more than a year old before he could sit up on his own or crawl. She said his endurance was something considering how little and sick he was.
“He was special from the moment he came home. God just made him extra special,” she said.
Titus was 18 months old when he finally started walking unassisted, but, Mary Ann said there is no stopping him now.
Titus still deals with some issues in his liver due to the strong medicine. He also has some digestive issues and requires has a g-tube to help with feeding. However, Mary Ann said he is becoming more receptive to eating.
“There have been a lot of tears, but God has been faithful,” Mary Ann said.
