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"The people convey this amazing, reassuring sense of calm during a crisis situation." Michelle Helmkamp says that is was her older son's idea to take in John Michael. The family had heard that a six-month-old Filipino baby was being flown to the United States for heart surgery. An organization called For the Children, which provides and manages medical care for children from underprivileged families, needed a family to act as legal guardians for John Michael. "Why don't we do it?" asked nine-year-old Andrew, and soon the whole family had fallen for the tiny, good-natured baby boy. "He has the whitest, most beautiful teeth," says Michelle, "and he's always smiling." But while awaiting surgery for his tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) condition, John Michael could do little else. He couldn't sit or even hold up his head; what energy he had was used to breathe. The baby's tongue, lips and fingertips were a purplish-blue, and at seven months he weighed only 13 pounds. John Michael's heart was about the size of a plum when Riley doctors, donating their services, decided it was time to operate. "We weren't as worried as you might think because we knew he was getting the very best of care," said Michelle. She attributes the boy's speedy recovery to his upbeat spirit and to the child-sensitive post-op care he received at Riley. "Even the lighting was soothing - they did everything to create a relaxing atmosphere." Michelle remembers fondly the attentive nurses, the wagon rides, the refrigerator stocked with juice and popsicles, and the "aquarium" channel on in-room televisions. "The nurses encouraged the parents to get their sleep, and we felt comfortable leaving him with them while we stayed overnight at the Ronald McDonald House." Today at two, John Michael has caught up developmentally with kids his age. He adores his big brother and will soon be the legal adopted son of Michelle and Roger Helmkamp. Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF): A congenital malformation of the heart characterized by a defect in the ventricular septum, misplacement of the origin of the aorta, narrowing of the pulmonary artery and enlargement of the right ventricle.
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