CINCINNATI, Oh. (LEX 18) — There are few things purer than a child's smile.
Whitney Branham will attest to that when it comes to her baby Hunter, a grin that always gives her warmth.
“He’s perfect. He’s happy. Always smiling. You can’t tell he’s in pain. You can’t tell anything’s wrong. He’s just happy," Branham said.
Unfortunately, young Hunter's smile doesn't tell the whole story.
Since being born in June 2023, this child has faced an uphill battle.
It quite literally hits close to the heart.
“At about 32 weeks, they had told me Hunter had a heart defect," Branham said.
That defect is known as Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS).
It's a rare heart condition where a baby's heart doesn't develop fully during pregnancy.
According to Cleveland Clinic, 1 in 3,800 babies is diagnosed with HLHS in the U.S. every year.
Hunter is a part of that select bunch, undergoing open heart surgery just three days after he was born.
“It was an 8-10 hour surgery. We waited all day long. I got updates every hour and a half to two," Branham said.
"Most parents get to feel their baby’s heartbeat; I got to see mine."
In his seven months of life, Hunter has been under the knife twice for serious surgery.
Coincidentally, two is how many days he's spent outside the hospital.
“We went home two days after his second surgery, and that was it. I haven’t even had the chance to raise my kid. I haven’t had a chance to do anything with him," Branham said.
Rather than getting used to his home in West Liberty, Hunter and his family essentially lived out of Cincinnati Children's Hospital.
Life has become a waiting game for Hunter, sitting on a transplant list, hopeful to get a new heart.
Something his entire family is praying for as they surround their child with as much love as possible.
“We have a big army behind us. They all may not be here right now, but they’re out there," Branham said.
“It’s important because if I didn’t have hope and faith, I don’t think we’d be here.”
You can follow Hunter's journey and learn more about how to help the Branham family on Facebookhere.
