Buckhead Couple Take in Georgian Boy with Life-Threatening Cardiac Condition

When a little boy from the country of Georgia needed life-saving heart surgery, one Buckhead couple volunteered to take him and his family into their home four years ago. After helping save the young boy's life once, the couple had no hesitation opening their home (and arms) again this month when doctors said he would need an immediate heart operation.

Lea Nixon, and her husband John of Buckhead knew exactly what they would need to do when their friends, Vano and Eka Shpetishvili of Georgia, told them that their 1-year-old son, Tedi, needed cardiac surgery.

Four years ago, the Nixons flew out their friends Vano, Eka and little Tedi Shpetishvili to Atlanta and made all the arrangements and appointments so that the toddler could undergo a cardiac surgery, completely free of charge, at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

The Nixons had met Vano during a 2006 meeting for frequent international travelers, as they have traveled to about 105 countries. They were scheduled to head to Georgia and were quite pleased to meet Vano and learn more about the country. Vano invited them to visit his family while they were there, and their families became fast friends.

When Vano, and his wife, Eka, called a year later after the Nixons' visit to tell them about the birth of their first son, Tedi, the Nixons were ecstatic.

However, Tedi was diagnosed with DiGeorge Syndrome, an usual condition that involves heart defects, tooth disease and sometimes facial deformities, within a day of his birth. The condition is much easier to treat in the United States, where there are more pediatric doctors and surgeons.

Lea had been researching DiGeorge Syndrome since she learned of Tedi's diagnosis, so when the Shpetishvilis called a year after Tedi's birth with the devastating news from doctors that Tedi had only months to live, Lea sprang into action.

Through calls and research, she was able to have Tedi treated at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta free of charge and helped save his life.

Tedi began to know John as Papa and Lea as Bebe, which are names for grandfather and grandmother in the country of Georgia.

Once Tedi and his family returned home, they continued to stay in touch with the Nixons through Skype.

So, in the fall of 2012, when doctors in the country of Georgia said Tedi would need an immediate heart valve replacement, the Nixons took him in again. They knew that any of these pediatric cardiac operations performed in the U.S. would likely have a better outcome than any performed in the country of Georgia. The replacement operation has about a 25 percent survival rate, but it's much higher in the U.S.

After again making all the arrangements for Tedi and his mother Eka, Tedi was able to receive treatment free of cost for his cardiac needs. The doctors here determined that Tedi would not need the heart valve replacement operation at this time.

However, doctors were able to remove 15 of Tedi's baby teeth, which were decayed possibly due to DiGeorge Syndrome.