When the city of Madison received more than a foot of snow this January, the hospital room of 17-month-old Denzel Barnes, Jr., or more affectionately known as “DJ,” was “delivered so many snowflakes; they delivered us a blizzard,” said DJ’s mother.
The blizzard of paper snowflake decorations was made by the school children of St. John Vianney School, St. Mary School, and St. William School, each located in Janesville.
DJ is the son of Sarah Hahn and Denzel Barnes, Sr., a Janesville couple who have ties to St. John Vianney School and Parish. Both of their children were Baptized at St. John Vianney Church, and Hahn, Hahn’s siblings, and her mother attended the school.
In November of last year, DJ was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect and for the past few months is being treated at American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison.
Over the period of his stay, DJ has undergone multiple life-saving measures.
To start the New Year, the family is thankful to those involved, “for making the snowflakes, for all the prayers, the support,” said DJ’s mother.
Decorating the room
Hahn added, “When you walk in DJ’s room, it is not your average hospital setting. It brings joy no matter what situation you’re in. We’ve had doctors come in and say, ‘This made my day’ [and] ‘This is amazing’. It truly means so much to our whole family and to DJ.”
The family was inspired to brighten DJ’s room with paper snowflake cutouts for the winter, and they “put out an open call on Facebook and DJ’s GoFundMe page. The school really pulled through.”
The family said that before DJ was admitted, “[He] was always happy. When he was having a good time, he would put a smile on everyone’s face. Even while we’ve been here, he still has the same personality. He’s been happy, playful when he can be. He’s in really good spirits for everything that’s going on. We’ve had the hospital’s support dog, ‘Cola,’ come in a few times, and that brightens him up so much. He will have the biggest smile on his face, and from seeing a smile on his face, everyone in the room lights up with him.”
Traversing life’s battles
Since November, support from their extended family, parish, and school have helped DJ’s parents and sister endure seeing him in the hospital. In particular, “We’ve had several Masses where DJ is an intentional prayer at St. John [Vianney]. That has been a huge part of helping us get through,” said the family.
Fr. Eric Nielson, parochial administrator of Pastorate 13, said, “DJ has been a fighter his entire life. He was anointed before his first procedure many months ago and has been in our prayer intentions ever since. He is surrounded by a courageous, loving family. They have sacrificed everything for his recovery.
“Even though the long days are filled with fear and anxiety, they have turned to their faith to sustain them. With the loving care of an amazing team at the Children’s Hospital, we are confident the outcome will bring glory to God and comfort to DJ and his family.”
DJ’s mother added, “[His] diagnosis — it’s hard because it has tested my faith, but DJ would not be here today without our faith in God, without our trust in God. Sometimes, there’s bumps in the road.”
A big ‘Thank You’
The family has a lot of gratitude and wanted to say thank you to “everyone taking care of DJ, in whatever way their talents have allowed them to, whether that’s: Hospital staff, all the people who donated to us, the Ronald McDonald House in Madison, and all the schools and children. We know that every snowflake here came with a thought or prayer and that’s incredible to think about.”
Each year, February 7 to 14 is Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) Awareness Week. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CHD affects one in 100 babies, and one in four babies born with a heart defect have a critical CHD, which requires surgery or other procedures within the first year of their life.
If you would like to learn more about DJ’s story or donate to his GoFundMe, visit gofundme.com/
big-mans-battle.