Colton Carter Gibson

Colton Carter Gibson, 3 months, passed away March 14, 2016. Colton was born on December 12th, 2015 to Samuel and Britney Gibson. Colton was born with three undiagnosed congenital heart defects; Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, Coarctation of the Aorta and Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return. Colton was living with half of a heart. At only four days old Colton underwent his first open heart surgery. Colton was recovering quickly until he was also diagnosed with Pulmonary Vein Stenosis. Colton had a cath lab intervention where he arrested twice and was placed on emergency life support (ECMO) for 24 hours. Colton continued to improve when the stenosis came back for a second time. On February 4th, Colton underwent his second open heart surgery to correct his veins. Again, Colton made leaps and bounds with his recovery. He put on weight, played and laughed every day. On Monday, March 14th, Colton ultimately clotted off his shunt (placed during his first surgery) which allows blood to get to his lungs and he passed. We as parents never knew anyone, let alone a newborn, could overcome such a major obstacles. Colton is such an amazing gift. At only three months old, Colton touched more lives than most people do in their entire life. He has the biggest personality and the brightest smile. Colton was such a happy baby, there is no arguing that. Colton knew nothing but love, and that was what we hoped for. Someone would always be in the hospital with him if we, his parents, could not be. He was never alone. He healed faster when he was surrounded by love. All of his family and nurses said they have never seen a baby smile so much. That was his gift to us to let us know that he was okay. There were a couple things that he absolutely loved. The first is his moose pacifier. He had it with him every second of the day. Although he was never able to take a bottle he had such a powerful hold on his wubbanub. As one of the attending's in the hospital said, ""Colton is the baby that you had to put your foot on his chest to try and pry the pacifier out of his mouth"". He loved that little moose. The second item he absolutely loved is a little orange monkey toy. He would stare at that monkey for hours and just smile. No one had to be moving it, as long it was in sight, he was having a good time. He knew nothing but love and gave nothing but love. Colton had a very rough three months. He was on very strong medications a majority of his life, but he never let that get him down. If he was awake, he would be smiling. He would grasp our hands during all of his shots and procedures. He is a tough little boy. He took whatever was thrown his way. When everyone thought he was at the end, he would laugh and pull through. When they told us he would be blind and paralyzed in his left side, he would look at them in the eye and wave. Nothing could stop Colton. Colton started to gain the love of all of his nurses and doctors. We will never know if it was because he had the biggest fight or the best smile. So many people loved him. Once we were transferred to the step down unit, the CICU nurses would come over after their shifts to hold him. He was only three months old but he had a very special impact on so many lives. I am and always will be proud of Colton, my son. He put up the biggest fight for his life and there is no disputing that. All he knew was joy in life. He defeated all odds that were thrown his way. He is the strongest person I have and probably will meet in my entire life. I will never forget the famous Colton smile. That smile told me that he loves me, that smile told me that everything is going to be okay. The night before he passed he held my finger tight as he smiled and rubbed his head against mine as he fell asleep. I will never forget that moment. The moment that told me we can get through anything no matter how hard it might be. I will forever miss the way that he loves his moose pacifier. I will miss the way that he looks at his father as they have deep conversations about absolutely nothing. I will miss how little sounds would give him the biggest smile and make him laugh. I will miss the feel of him in my arms but he will always be in my heart. I love you so much little moose bug. I am so proud to call you my son. -Love Mommy Colton IS a warrior. Colton IS strong. Colton IS loved. Colton IS my son. Colton Carter Gibson is a little boy with an incredible smile that doctors said he could never have. My little boy defied all odds when people truly thought he was out. With the grace of God, care from the nursing staff and doctors, support of thousands from coast to coast, his parents, family, and most importantly to him his wubbanub; he would continue to break down walls and live by his own set of rules. My little moose never had a bad day. No he didn't enjoy having heal pokes or getting his twice daily lovanox injection in his pudgy thighs, but after 10 seconds of crying he'd stop, look at the nurse and flip one of those famous Colton smiles. No matter what would happen, Colton would always smile letting everyone know that he was OK. I never once thought that any person could survive two open hearts, a cath lab that ended on emergency life support from ECMO and a general surgery. If you were to have told me that it was all done by a three month old, I would have laughed and said no way. Well My son did it and made it look easy, and as you can guess; smiled the whole time. COLTON IS MY HERO - Love Daddy Colton is survived by his parents, Samuel and Britney Gibson; paternal grandparents, Scott and Cheryl Gibson; maternal grandparents, Leonard and Shauna Rosenquist; 2 uncles; one aunt to be; as well as countless friends and family. A Celebration of Life will be held at 6:00pm on Sunday, April 3rd, 2016 at The Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster. Please share your memories of Colton and condolences with his family by signing the guest book below.