INDIANAPOLIS — A father and son are bound together by their heart.
“My dad would calm me down with the song [saying] everything is going to be alright,” Cater Kidwell said.
At Riley Hospital for Children, father and son Chris and Carter Kidwell were able to bond over their heart conditions.
“Especially going into my second heart surgery, that was a song that I kept on playing as a kid,” Chris Kidwell told WRTV.
Chris Kidwell says he had two heart surgeries by the time he was a young boy.
“Whenever I was born, my oxygen saturation was around 30%. Without immediate medical treatment, you die from that," Chris Kidwell said.
When his son, Carter, was a young child, he had his own heart surgery.
“This side of the heart was dilated because of extra blood flow and that could eventually cause heart failure, which would happen around the time he became a teenager,” Chris Kidwell added.
The bond is more than similar interests.
They are also bonded by their shared gratitude for the doctors at Riley. Those surgeries strengthened their relationship in ways they could never express.
“Being a pillar of strength for yourself can be inspirational, so I think that’s a benefit for anyone who was born with a rare heart condition or anyone who has to deal with any kind of personal struggle,” Chris Kidwell said.
