Real Housewives of Orange County star Meghan King Edmonds shared an update on her 13-month-old son Hart, who was diagnosed with irreversible brain damage earlier this month. Edmonds shared a photo with Hart on Instagram Friday, telling fans they are “seeing progress.” The reality star revealed Hart’s diagnosis to the public in an emotional blog post on July 4.
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“Four times a week either [husband Jim Edmonds] or I ‘dive’ with Hart in a hyperbaric compressed oxygen chamber (HBOT). After 5 dives we are already seeing progress: lifting his left leg on stairs when his right is restrained, bear crawling (perhaps trying to stand?), more willingly taking steps with assistance, and cruising from the couch to the coffee table,” Edmonds, 34, wrote in the caption. “Is it because of this alternative therapy, is it because he’s just getting older, is it because of PT, or is it because of his 3x/weekly chiropractor visits? Who knows, but it’s not hurting! Go Hart, go!”
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The photo shows Edmonds and Hart peeking out of the hyperbaric compressed oxygen chamber, with Edmonds kissing her son.
Back on July 4, Edmonds published a blog post simply titled “My Hart,” in which she explained how she knew something was “different” about Hart the moment he and twin brother Hayes were born.
“From the minute he was born I knew something was different with Hart,” she wrote. “The nurses struggled to straighten his legs to measure his length. He suckled hard, shallow, and often until I bled and he spit up black.”
Edmonds said they took Hart to a pediatric ophthalmologist and a chiropractor and took him to cranial sacral therapy to find out what was wrong with him. At first doctors, including their pediatrician, said Hart was fine, but she knew something was not right. She eventually had a neurologist who specializes in Cerebral Palsy to do an MRI. Three days after the exam, the doctor told her Hart has irreversible brain damage.
“Hart has minor Periventricular Leukomalacia on both sides of his brain (namely the white matter), but more so on his right,” Edmonds wrote. “She said that this explains all of my concerns: the rigidity in his muscles, the (somewhat) delayed physical milestones, the lack of fluidity with arm and leg movements, the stiffness in joints, the weakness in his lower back, the somewhat favored use of his right side. She told me this mainly occurs in premies and since he was not a premie (he was born at 37 weeks gestation) she believes this damage somehow occurred ‘a couple months before he was born.’ She explained that he is at risk for being diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and will be monitored.”
Since breaking the news, Edmonds has continued to share photos and videos of Hart, providing updates on how he is progressing.
This week, it was reported that Edmonds will be back on RHOC after two years away from the show. She joined in Season 10, when Jim was playing for the St. Louis Cardinals and they split their time between Orange County, California and St. Louis.
Her decision to return to the Bravo show came after Jim admitted to exchanging inappropriate messages with another woman while Edmonds was in labor with their twins. Despite the scandal, Edmonds told The Daily Mail they are still together.
“We’re still married, we’re still together, we’re not separated,” she said. “We’re in the family home, we’re in the same bed. We’re not having therapy, we’re talking.”
Photo credit: Instagram/Meghan King Edmonds
