Havyk started his journey at the beginning of 2019 when parents noticed the right side of his body didn't follow the left. They took him in to see a neurologist in June to find out what was going on since his right hand was too tight to open, his right leg was just being drug behind him when he walked, he only smiled with the left side of his face leaving the right side to look droopy, and he was not making any progress with learning new words. The neurologist explained that most likely the cause was a perinatal stroke in the left brain affecting his right. They immediately started Havyk on physical, occupational, and speech therapy after this news and got him set up for an MRI in July to confirm the stroke. However, when they went in for the MRI they were pulled back to see the neurologist to discuss a tennis ball-sized tumor on the left side of his brain. The tumor was severe enough and not causing very many tumor-related side effects so the neurologist and neurosurgeon wanted to get him in within a week to have it removed. After the craniotomy Havyk started to make a quick recovery, getting back on his feet within a few days and being discharged after a week. Since the middle of July, Havyk has been doing speech, physical, and occupational therapies at least once a week to help him develop fine motor skills in the right side of his body as well as be able to learn new ways to communicate. He is currently non-verbal, but he has finally developed his right hand enough to hold onto small toys and of course his blanket! He is making tremendous progress and his parents are doing all they can to make sure that he continues on the path he is on.

On the lighter side of things, Havyk loves to dance and play. He has started to watch lots of Pixar movies that are musicals and he loves to dance along with the music. His favorite song is BOOM by X Ambassadors, and it never fails to make him dance when it’s played. Dad taught him how to headbutt, which in Dad’s words, may not be the best lesson, but he loves to show affection by using his heavy head! He is the sweetest baby you will meet and he loves to meet new people. He doesn't talk a lot besides saying mama or dada, but he tells all kinds of stories through grunts and growls! They call him their shark baby because when they found out they were going to be parents, the first ultrasound they got made him look like the head of a shark. Ever since then, they try to get him all kinds of shark clothing and toys to keep up with the nickname.