Now Carter Lawrence is an HCHS graduate
(This article first appeared in the June print issue of the Hendersonian)
Carter Lawrence, born 29 weeks early with a condition called necrotizing entercolitis, weighed 3 pounds, 2 ounces at birth.
“He about fit in my hand when he was born,” says his father, Rick Lawrence.
Necrotizing entercolitis is a gastrointestinal issue that most often affects premature babies, and it’s serious, often fatal. Some doctors didn’t give much hope that Carter would ever live a normal existence, if he lived at all. If he did survive, he would be bedridden with special needs and a low quality of life, they said.
One surgeon told Rick and Carter’s mother, Susan, that it was “immoral, unethical and cruel” to perform surgeries on Carter to keep him alive.
Rick Lawrence told the surgeon that it was our “job to give (Carter) every chance at life and God would make that decision.”
Some 18-plus years later, on Thursday, May 23, Carter walked across the stage at the Ford Center a graduate of Henderson County High School.
His journey from birth to graduation was long, sometimes painful, especially as a young boy recovering from the effects of the condition he was born with.
But now, you would never guess that he was born premature with necrotizing entercolitis and nearly died as a baby. Standing about 6 feet tall and thin as a weed, Carter looks like your average graduate. The only difference, he says, are some scars remaining from surgeries all those years ago.
About two weeks after Carter’s birth, Carter was transferred via helicopter from Methodist Hospital to Kosair Children’s Hospital in Louisville. He arrived there in August, and stayed, with his mother beside him, till January.
Susan, a registered nurse, had to take off from her job and when told Carter would have to be at Kosair for six months to a year, she could not fathom being there that long.
“It was rough,” she said.
To cope, Susan said she went into nurse mode, focusing on the facts of her son’s condition—the feeding times, the medications and medical terminology. Otherwise, the emotions would roll her over.
“I had to look at it like this was my job, not my son,” she said.
Rick described those months and Carter’s health at the time as “touch and go.” While Susan was in the hospital with Carter, Rick still reported to work at the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office (from where he retired in the spring, though now he’s been rehired as a school resource officer), but he recalled having to take off days numerous times and rushing to Louisville to be with his son.
Once, he recalled, he received a phone call from a nurse at the hospital with the message, “You need to get up here now if you want to see him alive.”
Necrotizing entercolitis affects a baby’s intestines. With Carter, Susan said that surgeons removed most of Carter’s small intestines, while keeping eight good pieces. Those eight pieces were sewn together to create a functioning small intestine.
“He was left with 23 centimeters after all the surgeries,” she said. A normal baby has about 120-centimeter-long small intestine, she said.
When Carter finally made it home, the work wasn’t over. He was better but there was still so much to do to take care of him, Susan said. She gave him medication and fed him from 6 a.m. to midnight daily. For about a year more, Carter had trouble keeping food down.
Carter’s July birthday falls right on the line for the date that determines when to start school. His early medical issues coupled with being one of the youngest in his class led to a tough first year of school, Carter said.
He went to kindergarten again and did better in his second year. Still, though, Carter said he struggled throughout his time at Niagara Elementary School.
But he said something clicked when he was in seventh grade and he got all ‘A’s. He’s been making them since. He said his GPA was 4.19 the last time he was able to check. (The high school turns off grade notifications before graduation.)
Carter will attend Murray State University in the fall and plans on studying computer science. He’s earned $2,500 in scholarships from Independence Bank and a $500 scholarship from the Fraternal Order of Police, along with the Provost Scholarship from MSU.
On a side note, the very first Terror on the Trail—a local scare event each October which gives proceeds to families with ill children—came about to help Carter and Rick and Susan. That was in October 2005, at a time when Carter was at Kosair.
Rick says Carter’s leaving will be a big change for their relationship. He and Carter do a lot of things together. That includes a shared devotion the Dungeons & Dragons board game, so much so that he and Carter even dedicated a room in his house—a Dungeons & Dragons “lair”—decorated with D&D accoutrements and insignia. He’s not only been a father to Carter, but also a best friend, Rick said.
Carter said “it’s definitely frightening” to leave home.
But he’s ready.
“Despite the odds, I’m still kicking,” Carter said. “Everyday’s good.”
