Meet Simon Gruber

Simon’s a great kid. When we found out that we were expecting our second child, I was managing a restaurant in New Jersey. We were living in Lebanon but were also renting an apartment in Philly. We decided to go with an OB/GYN in Philly since that is where we spent most of our time. On Feb. 18th I reported to Chestnut Hill Hospital where they induced labor. 24 hours later the baby showed no sign of making an appearance, so they decided to do an emergency c-section. I had been running a high fever, so they had a special Neonatal Intensive Care nurse present in case there were any residual complications with the baby.


Immediately after Simon was born, the Neonatal nurse noticed that he was bluish and took him away to be evaluated. She realized he was not getting enough oxygen and called the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and requested an emergency transport team to come and get him. They asked for more testing to be done, to which she flatly refused stating that they would only run the same tests if they took him to CHOP…so they came and transported him by ambulance. I credit this nurse alone with saving Simon’s life. His condition was bad enough that the doctors at CHOP called me at Chestnut Hill to begin immediate catheterization on Simon rather than wait for my husband to arrive who was following the ambulance in his car. All we know is that "Simon arrived at CHOP a very, very sick boy". He was diagnosed as having Transposition of the Greater Artery (TGA) which means the aorta and pulmonary artery is reversed. The aorta receives the oxygen-poor blood from the right ventricle, but it's carried back to the body without receiving more oxygen. Likewise, the pulmonary artery receives the oxygen-rich blood from the left ventricle but carries it back to the lungs.


His high weight and overall health made him a good candidate for an Arterial Switch. At 10 days of age, he had open heart surgery performed by (ironically) Dr. Gruber who took the aorta and pulmonary artery…cut them…switched them…and reattached them to their proper arterial position. His oxygen level fluctuated for several days after that, but within one week he was released to go home. He continued to get regular check-ups with his cardiologist and even participated in a study that CHOP conducts on children that have been deprived of oxygen within the first critical hours of birth. They test developmental and cognitive development of children starting at age 5. His test results show that he is within normal range of development for a child his age.


Simon is an amazing child to us because he has always been incredibly brave. He seems to have an amazing threshold for pain. He does not appear to be frightened or uncomfortable with anything or anybody. He is an introverted and thoughtful child who chooses to observe a situation before committing either his participation or opinion. He enjoys school, loves acquiring stickers and affirmation from his teacher for a job well-done, is bent on beating his older brother, Finnegan, at any competition…and yet very protective and watchful over his younger brother Sean. Simon inspires our family every day…even though we forget most of the time what lies beneath the scar that runs the length of his chest.!