HATTIESBURG, MS (WDAM) -
Exactly
a year ago, Andrew and Kari Bradberry were celebrating the birth of their
child, Alexander Bradberry.
Alexander
was born with HLHS, Hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
After
six months and going through two open heart surgeries, Alexander passed away in
September, just three days after the Bradberry's held a blood drive for him. Immediately
after that, Andrew and his wife Kari received some surprising news.
"We found out we were pregnant, and then a few months later we
found out we were expecting twins," said Andrew Bradberry. "We were really
surprised, and then right before Christmas we went in to do the basic anatomy
eval of the babies, and we found out that one of the babies has the same heart
defect that Alexander had."
Once born, one of the twin boys will immediately have to go
through one of three open heart surgeries, and in order to prepare for that,
the Bradberry's held their second blood drive on Thursday in Hattiesburg.
"I feel, you know, bad in a sense that I have to ask my son
to go through this again, but I feel confident that this time it'll work out
better for us," said Andrew.
Thanks to the help of Batson Children's Hospital, Mississippi
Blood Drive, and Hardy Street Baptist Church, many residents were able to
donate blood to help the Bradberry's.
"Thank you so much to anyone and everyone that has shown support
for us through Facebook, through you know, messaging boards, for coming out and
just giving Kari and I great joy in celebrating Alexander's life and preparing
for our next baby," said Andrew.
More than 40 residents went out to the blood drive to donate
blood.
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