What could be more heartbreaking for parents than to know that their children suffer from a life threatening health issue?
News anchor Bret Baier and his wife have been facing a similar ordeal from more than seven years. One of their two sons, was born with cardiac problems. It was after his birth that the doctors and nurses noticed that something was wrong with their son, Paul. According the doctors, the boy has two holes in his heart, including three other congenital defects. On the twelfth day of his birth, the boy underwent an open-heart surgery to restructure his heart.
The former chief White House Correspondent, discussed about his son, his condition and his book, “Special Heart: A Journey of Faith, Hope, Courage and Love”. He has been interacting with as many media outlets as he can in order to spread awareness about the heart problem and the struggle that he and his wife had to face during such a difficult period of their life. And here, we have tried to recollect the things that he has said and has been saying to the media about his son’s condition.
The popular news anchor recalled the times when his son underwent three open-heart surgeries and seven angioplasties and a stomach surgery. He said it was a third degree torture for the family.
"It never gets easier," said the Fox's chief political anchor. "Every time we go in and have to hand him over and they knock him out and we watch him roll away — that's fear to the nth degree. Every time."
He added that his son was doing quite well after multiple surgeries. “You'd never know he had a heart condition by watching him on the playground. He's the tallest kid in his class and he's running and jumping and climbing. We were joking with his heart surgeon, "Maybe you did a little too good a job." He's doing great,” said the journalist.
He also added that though the boy underwent three operations, he will need another one in 6-8 years, which luckily could also be his last.
“For us it's gotten harder because Paul understands what's going on now. Now there's the psychological part of taking him through each one, having him own the condition. Before this last surgery he was having a hard time breathing after running around and he said to us, "I want to go in and get my heart fixed,"” confessed the loving father about the fear that he and his wife faced at the time of Paul’s first surgery.
He also stated that their little angel had a strong will power.
The former Pentagon Correspondent penned the book, “Special Heart” last year where he aims to raise awareness among parents about the disease. The father of two has also recollected the tough phase he and his beloved wife went through during their son’s treatment, in the book.
The host of Special Report with Bret Baier, himself was diagnosed with high cholesterol during that time because of his unhealthy diet. He later took weight loss seriously and lost a massive 48 pounds by changing his diet and becoming more active.
His strength, patience and determination are the three important factors that has driven him towards success. He bravely fought for his son and he is also doing great in the field of journalism, which is why Fox News pays him a huge annual salary.