A Columbus teenager who was born with heart defects and underwent three surgeries in his first three years now lives life to the fullest.
Ashton Clark, 15, was born with three heart chambers instead of four. He also had a right ventricle that didn’t form.
Doctors had initially discovered the heart problems during an ultrasound when his mother, 21 at the time, was four months pregnant.
For Sarah Clark, it was a matter of taking in the new medical information — and trusting her doctor’s advice on how best to deal with the situation after her son’s birth.
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From that point on, the medical steps necessary to correct the boy’s heart issues would begin very quickly.
Just 10 days old, Ashton had the first of his heart operations. The closed-heart surgery at Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis was performed to prevent stretching of an artery, said Teancum Clark, Ashton’s father, a Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department deputy.
The second surgery was performed when the boy was seven months old. It involved connecting a major vein from his head and neck area, rerouting blood flow from the lower part of his body to the pulmonary artery, said Dr. Randall Caldwell, a Riley cardiologist who has worked with Ashton since his birth.
The final surgery, which occurred when Ashton was 2 and a half, helped blood flow to the right atrium of his heart up to the pulmonary artery.
In each instance, the Clarks put their complete trust in Ashton’s doctors — buoyed by support from other family members and a belief that their son was meant to survive.
Sarah and Teancum Clark both said their faith helped them through the difficult times surrounding their son’s surgeries.
“I felt like whatever was supposed to happen was going to happen,” said Sarah Clark, who works at Elite Wellness & Beauty in Columbus.
“There’s always hope and I felt that the whole way through,” said Columbus North High School principal David Clark, one of Ashton’s grandparents.
Teancum Clark described his family’s situation early on as being along for the ride, as doctors “were trying to get as many eyes on the problem as they could.”
In one of his roles as doctor, Caldwell worked to provide comfort to Ashton’s parents at the same time he was providing important new information to them — something he does routinely with families of his patients.
“We want to make sure (they understand) what they’re dealing with in a larger sense,” Caldwell said. “They’ve been a really exceptional family.”
For the Clarks, a hypoplastic right ventricle that Ashton was born with affects 20 to 25 children annually in Indiana, he said. It is unknown what causes a hypoplastic right ventricle to occur, he said.
If Ashton decides to have children later in life, it is unlikely that his heart issues would be passed on, the doctor said.
Although it’s been more than 12 years since his most recent surgery, Ashton — who just completed his freshman year at Columbus North — sees Caldwell each year for a checkup. The visit to the doctor’s office involves an echocardiogram and an assessment of his ventricles to see how they are flowing, Caldwell said.
Caldwell said Ashton has done exceptionally well so far and doesn’t foresee any issues arising, describing him as a normal and healthy looking teenager.
“Some of these patients will continue for years or decades without any problems at all,” Caldwell said.
“He’s always been a fighter, obviously,” Teancum Clark said of Ashton, a trait that others have also seen.
“What impresses me the most is he doesn’t quit,” David Clark said.
There have been few limits placed on Ashton’s activities. Although football was ruled out, he competed on the Columbus North wrestling team during his freshman year and has participated in jiu-jitsu for the past year and half.
With participation has come plenty of support from his teammates.
“They always push me to do my best,” Ashton said. “I look forward to working with them next year.”
Ashton has also found comfort during summer months by attending Camp Rhythm in St. Louis. The five-day, four-night camp is for children who were born with a heart defect or developed a heart problem that required intervention and ongoing follow-up care before the age of 18.
This year will mark the third time in four years he has attended Camp Rhythm.
“We’re all on the same level,” Ashton said. “Everybody has a scar.”
And the Columbus teen has a message for the doctor who placed it there.
“Thanks for keeping me alive,” he said.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Ashton Clark” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Age: 15
Parents: Sarah and Teancum Clark, Columbus
Siblings: Wyatt and Everly
School: Attends Columbus North High School and will be a sophomore this fall
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The heart, located almost in the center of the chest, is the hardest working muscle in the human body.
It is the muscle that pumps blood filled with oxygen and nutrients through the blood vessels to body tissues.
It is made up of four chambers, two atria and two ventricles, that receive blue (deoxygenated) blood from the body and pump out red (oxygen-rich blood) back to it.
The atria receive blood coming back to the heart, while the ventricles pump the blood out of the heart.
Source: John Hopkins Medicine website
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