A Life Saved, and Influencing Others

When 9-year-old Alex Miller joins his family to host the 2nd annual Family Fitness Fun 5k and Expo at the Burrage Mansion in Redlands on Sunday, April 3, the fact that the energetic young athlete almost didn’t survive his first five months of life won’t be apparent to anyone who doesn’t know the story. Alex will be running, jumping, climbing, and competing with other kids his age, but to his parents, Michael and Alecia Miller, the fact that he’s even alive is a miracle. Alecia knew something was seriously wrong shortly after Alex was born. “He looked like a healthy, 9 pound 8 ounce boy,” she shares, “but he cried all the time.” Neverthless, physicians at Redlands Community Hospital couldn’t find any reason for his perpetual discomfort until Alex was three-and-a-half months old and an X-ray revealed an enlarged heart. He was then sent post haste to Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital (LLUCH). After an echocardiogram revealed that Alex had a rare medical disorder called unbalanced atrioventricular septal defect, pediatric cardiologist Ranae Larsen, MD, admitted him to LLUCH for surgery. “Dr. Larsen told us that unbalanced AV is similar to hypoplastic left heart syndrome,” Alecia recalls, “except it occurs on the right side of the heart. The right side was overdeveloped and way too large.” A diagnosis of unbalanced AV is usually made while the child is still in the womb, but since Alex was older, Larsen informed Michael and Alecia that the condition would be much harder to treat. Pioneering infant heart specialist Leonard Bailey, MD, was tapped to lead the team that would perform the operation to save Alex’s life. Before he could do that, however, physicians would have to find a way to reduce the pressure in Alex’s lungs, which had risen too high. A month later, the pressure in Alex’s lungs had subsided thanks to medication and oxygen therapy and Bailey was able to perform the desperately needed reconstructive surgery. Although the operation was a success, Alex resumed crying once he regained consciousness. The following Tuesday, Larsen readmitted him to the hospital and ordered another echocardiogram. This time, the test revealed that the surgery—which had enlarged the right side of Alex’s heart to normal proportions— but it had also put a lot of pressure on his mitral valve. Once again, he was rushed into surgery. At first, things seemed to be going well after the operation. But when doctors took him off the ventilator, Alex began gasping for air. They put him back on the machine and pondered what to do next. By this time, the Miller’s were beginning to wonder if Alex would ever be healthy. At times, the situation seemed so hopeless that Alecia questioned cardiothoracic surgeon Anees Razzouk, MD—who had assisted Bailey in Alex’s first two surgeries —about the prognosis. If he survived, would Alex be weak and sickly for the rest of his life, or was there reason to believe he still might recover and thrive? She desperately wanted answers. In return, Razzouk proposed a “shotgun” approach. He put Alex on a wide array of medications to reduce the pressure in his lungs and prepare him to endure one more operation. The following week, Bailey and Razzouk took Alex back into the operating room a third time and replaced the defective mitral valve. The results were encouraging. Alex looked better right after surgery and Alecia noted a definite improvement in his mood. For one thing, he seemed happy for the first time in his life. For another, he wasn’t crying any more. He seemed especially cheerful when she breastfed him. “He was like a normal, healthy baby his age,” Alecia remembers, recalling the wonderful day she was finally able to take him home from the hospital. Fast-forward eight-and-a-half years and Alex is the picture of health today. He looks great, has tons of energy, and loves active sports, especially golfing, horseback riding, running, and skiing. “We go skiing every Friday,” Alecia reports. “I LOVE skiing,” Alex insists. His mitral valve may need replacing one final time as Alex enters adulthood, but aside from that, the future looks bright. The energetic third-grader from Mariposa Elementary School in Redlands says his favorite subject is science. His class is studying the solar system and Alex is enthralled with his research project on the Planet Mars. According to Dixie Watkins, co-president of the Big Hearts for Little Hearts Loma Linda Guild that sponsors the Family Fitness Fun 5k and Expo, Alex and his family were selected to headline the event because their story showcases the healing miracles that happen at LLUCH every day, and because they exemplify the outdoor fitness lifestyle. “They’re amazing,” she notes, “especially when you think of all they’ve been through. They’re the kind of role models we need in our community.” Watkins says the guild “wanted to create an event here in Redlands where families can have a great time doing something healthier than sitting on the couch and watching TV. We also wanted to raise money to benefit the patients of Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital and underscore the fact that we have such an incredible place for kids right here in our backyard.” Watkins says the gates will open at 7 a.m. to allow runners time to register for the run and enjoy warm-up activities at 7:30. The run will begin at 8 a.m. “The run is not timed,” Watkins informs. “It’s a fun run/walk for people of all ages. We’ll have firemen there handing out medals to participants and a representative from the Redlands Police Department will explain the rules and outline the course.” In addition to the run, Watkins says the event will feature a plethora of other fun and educational activities for kids and families. “We’ll have an obstacle course for the kids,” she notes. “Teenagers will escort small groups of up to five kids through the course. There will also be a fire truck and ladder for the kids to crawl on. We’ll have a reptile petting zoo with Bill Hayes, face painting, crafts, lawn games, golf, tennis and lots of other things.” Watkins says there will be plenty of things to interest the adults as well. “At the Expo, we’ll have approximately 25 booths with a variety of ideas for how to get fit and healthy,” she adds. Local organizations that have signed up for a booth so far include: • Crossfit • Fox Dance Studio • Garden Pediatrics • KFROG 95.1 FM and 92.9 FM • Jazzercise • Karate for Kids • Loma Linda University School of Dentistry • My Gym • Redlands Country Club • YMCA Circus “The guild recognizes that Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital does a really good job of taking care of sick kids like Alex,” Watkins concludes. “We support them for doing that. But we also care about all the other kids and families in our community. We want to help them stay well and healthy. That’s why we sponsor this event. We think the emphasis on prevention, activity, and exercise in the fresh air is just what the doctor ordered.” Information about registration fees is available online at www.LLUCH.org/5k