By Ryn Gargulinski, Staff Reporter
While many newly married couples with a newborn may be counting the minutes until they can bring baby home, Ariana and Brandon Schofield were counting the days until their baby’s first open-heart surgery. Born in October 2024 with a heart condition, Harland Schofield was just 8 days old when he underwent the first of three surgeries needed to repair and strengthen his heart. Known as Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, or HLHS, the condition is a severe congenital heart defect where the left side of the heart is underdeveloped. The first surgery lasted more than 10 hours. The second surgery, performed on April 15, lasted around nine hours. It also included a tissue donation of two pulmonary patches from a generous donor family. The third surgery will be scheduled sometime before the age of 5. Harland’s first two surgeries were a success, which is not a surprise based on the amount of love, care, knowledge and support surrounding him. Harland’s medical team gets a lot of the credit, of course, especially his team at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg.
But credit also goes to the loving family and the community in Cape Coral and beyond. While Ariana’s job at Lee Health provides extensive health benefits and emotional support, and Brandon’s work as a commercial electrician delivers a solid income, the family is still facing immense expenses for Harland’s care. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help offset the expenses, spearheaded by Brandon and his mom Michelle Richard. Even with insurance, copays have already hit more than $10,000. And once paid time off is depleted, unpaid time off work starts to add up.
Harland’s diagnosis came during a second trimester scan before he was born. “What did I do wrong?” was Ariana’s first thought. Of course, they had done nothing wrong. The rare condition is not hereditary, and the cause is unknown, so there would have been no way to predict Harland would be affected. “Who can help, who can fix this?” was the second response from Ariana.
“We had hundreds and thousands of questions,” Brandon added. The new parents quickly went to work getting them answered. Speaking with Brandon and Ariana is akin to tapping into an encyclopedia of knowledge on HLHS baby care. And they are putting what they learned into daily practice. While Harland still needs certain medications, routine St. Petersburg hospital visits, and a machine to measure oxygen levels while sleeping, he is past the stage of feeding tubes and countless wires. Dressed to the nines for his first interview, the 6-month-old looks dashing in seersucker. The handsome lad is also known for playfully flirting with the nurses, enjoying his hand toys, showing immediate food preferences (like his distaste for scallions), and sleeping through everything from vacuum cleaners to lawn mowers. Harland has also adapted well to his time at a specialized daycare for children with medical needs, available from Lee Health Prescribed Pediatric Extended Care (PPEC).
Not just any daycare will do. Not just any babysitter will do, either. Grandma Michelle and others who regularly care for Harland need to be trained in certain things, such as infant CPR. They also need to tend to Harland immediately if he starts to fuss or cry. Getting worked up can deplete blood oxygen levels which, in turn, can mean an emergency trip to the hospital. The family has learned all this, and more, including a few deeper lessons. Being able to ask for and accept help was a particularly big one for the independent and hardworking couple. Patience, trust and setting priorities were also on the lesson list.
Before Harland came into their lives, Brandon admitted he was often easily irritated and cranky. “Now we just go with the flow,” he said. “The dishes can wait. The laundry can wait,” Ariana added. “It’s Harland’s world now.” And Harland’s world is truly a supportive one. Just ask Grandma Michelle. “He’s in a lot of hands,” she said, “well cared-for and well loved.”
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