Peace of mind.
That's what the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association gave one local military family on Saturday.
Mike "Santa" Davis and his wife, Amande "Mama Claus" Davis, presented a "pulse-oximeter" to Sgt. Michael and Candice Rigdon on behalf of the association members who raised the money to buy it.
The equipment is for the Rigdon's 9-month-old son, Jonathan. He was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
"The left side of his heart is way underdeveloped, and the right side of his heart has to do all of the function, so basically he has half a heart," explained his mother.
He's already had three open-heart surgeries to enable the right side of the heart to do double duty. These were done at Children's Medical Center in Dallas.
"He has been doing awesome, but it's also something that's never fixed," Candice said.
The condition means Jonathan will need ongoing care, and he will have to have at least one more surgery at age 3. There's also the possibility that one side of the heart may not be able to support him indefinitely and he will need a transplant, but his parents are hoping his heart will stay strong.
"Nowadays many more kids are surviving with these procedures they have lined up, especially for his defect," Candice said. "The medical field has come such a long ways that they have these three certain surgeries that they do in progression, and it's increasing survival rates. It's great what they can do now."






