PRAIRIE DU SAC, Wis.— As American Heart Month begins, one mother and son prove an oftentimes difficult diagnosis doesn’t have to be limiting.
Nick Basken, who is just 17-years-old, was practicing an assortment of songs on his grandmother's upright piano. He dreams of a future making music in New York City.
"Manhattan School of Music and Juilliard a close second," he said about his ambitious college plans.
The Prairie du Sac High School junior, a top academic and performing talent, is eager to one day appear on Broadway, and he won't let his congenital heart defect limit him.
As a two-day-old baby, his mom, Amy Basken, said doctors made the dangerous diagnosis and performed a massive surgery on his tiny body.
"That moment in time, we had no idea if he would make it through the night," Amy Basken said. "We had no idea of if he would make it to the next day and those hopes and dreams you have for your new baby. You just couldn't afford to have that hope," she said with tears in her eyes.
Luckily for the Basken family, hope prevailed and Nick Basken did more than just survive, he thrived.
It's part of the reason Amy Basken co-founded Conquering CHD, a Madison-based nonprofit for families needing information on the scary disease that on average can impact 1 in 100 babies.
"It started as one person; now we reach 13 million people a year," she said about the reach of the nonprofit.
Conquering CHD offers support to families through education and volunteer opportunities.
"About 40 years ago, the chances of survival was about 20%. And now it's 90%, thanks to advancements in medical care," Amy Basken said.
UW Health pediatric cardiologist, Dr. Luke Lamers treated Nick Basken and said the type of care the hospital was offering is also changing.
"It's almost like... new; it's growing a whole new kind of field of medicine, caring for adults with congenital heart disease who are living to be 40- and 50- and 60-years-old," Lamers said.
Recently, he began providing specialized adult CHD care. He said when he started it was so new, it was not offered in a lot of places yet.
"And last year in the entire United States, I think there were 14 people only that did this advanced training. So there's just a very small number of providers or a growing population of patients," he said.
Nick Basken thankful for Lamers and the treatment at American Family Children's Hospital.
"It's really comforting to know that I have a doctor who I already know that I can go back to. Like just one less uncertainty when it comes to my heart," Nick said.
Learn more about the nonprofit, Conquering CHD, here.