Donovan Conrad, infant saved by EVMS doctors
Donovan Conrad, pictured, might have died soon after being born if not for surgery performed by Dr. Travis Reeves and Dr. Eric Dobratz.

Family honors doctor who saved child’s life

“You never think it’s going to happen to you,” Alicia Conrad says. “It was a bomb that was dropped on our lives, an unexpected diagnosis.”

Fear overwhelmed Alicia and Joseph Conrad in December 2014 after their third son, Donovan, was born with a cleft palate. At a nurse’s recommendation, the Conrads opted to travel from their home in Fredericksburg to the Craniofacial Reconstruction Program at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters. That’s where they met Travis Reeves, MD, and Eric Dobratz, MD (MD ’03), both Assistant Professors of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at EVMS.

They told the Conrads that along with a cleft palate, Donovan had Pierre Robin Syndrome, which results in a small lower jaw and a tongue that falls back in the throat.

A day after the new diagnosis, Dr. Reeves made a call that likely saved Donovan’s life.

“He was concerned about Donovan’s breathing,” Ms. Conrad says, “and if he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t eat. He wanted to admit Donovan for airway management.”

Their son needed surgery to pull out the jaw so the tongue could lie down, allowing him to breathe and eat normally. At first they were hesitant because the procedure required a device to be wired to Donovan’s jaw. Ms. Conrad says Dr. Reeves was understanding.

“He told us that he looked into Donovan’s eyes and could tell that he couldn’t breathe and that he was scared. He said that our son deserved a better quality of life, and he was right.”

One week later, Drs. Reeves and Dobratz performed Donovan’s surgery, and he gradually improved. Now he’s 18 months old, and Ms. Conrad says you’d never know he was sick.

Not only is he healthy, he’s also a proud big brother. Alicia Conrad had her fourth child last fall. When it came time to think of a name, she says it was easy.

“Gabriel Reeves Conrad was born in November,” Ms. Conrad says. “Dr. Reeves was such an advocate for Donovan, and we couldn’t think of a better way to thank him for saving our son’s life.”