Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Ashley Mockovciak, Team Shaw spouse, left, and Tech. Sgt. Ben Mockovciak, 372nd Training Squadron Detachment 202 F-16 tactical aircraft maintenance instructor, lean over their son Noah’s bed at a hospital at Charleston, S.C., circa February 2017.Little guy, big fixed heart: part I
                        
                        
                        Ashley Mockovciak and Tech. Sgt. Ben Mockovciak, 372nd Training Squadron Detachment 202 F-16 tactical aircraft maintenance instructor, lean over their son Noah’s bed at a hospital at Charleston, S.C., circa February 2017. Noah was admitted to the hospital after he experienced a heart attack in his home, leading to the discovery of congenital heart defects. (Courtesy photo)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        Ashley Mockovciak, Team Shaw spouse, kisses her son Noah Mockovciak in a hospital at Charleston, S.C., circa February 2017.Little guy, big fixed heart: part I
                        
                        
                        Ashley Mockovciak kisses her son Noah Mockovciak in a hospital at Charleston, S.C., circa February 2017. Physicians discovered Noah had heart defects after he experienced a heart attack. (Courtesy photo)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

Little guy, big fixed heart: part IPublished May 2, 2018
                    
                    By Airman 1st Class Kathryn R.C. Reaves
                    
                    
                    20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
            **SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. (AFNS)  --**When Ashley and Tech. Sgt. Ben Mockovciak learned they would soon be parents, they were overwhelmed with the exciting idea of welcoming a healthy, beautiful child into their family.“It was the best feeling in the world,” said Ashley, tears in her eyes as she remembered the moment she held the positive pregnancy test. “It was just incredible joy. We were like, ‘Maybe this time we can finally have a baby.’”When Noah James was born months later, the new mother wept with happiness in the hospital room as she held him in her arms with her husband by her side.“It was pretty amazing,” said Ben, 372nd Training Squadron Detachment 202 F-16 tactical aircraft maintenance instructor. “It was just awesome to see him after all the complications we had in the previous pregnancies. Once he was here, we kind of took a deep breath and everything was good to go. Unfortunately, that was just the beginning.”Following a short stay in the neonatal intensive care unit, the Mockovciaks were able to take their newborn home shortly before Ben departed to attend noncommissioned officer academy.“I only got to spend a few hours with him at home, but it was just awesome knowing he was at home with Ashley and they weren’t at the hospital and we got everything handled,” said Ben. “It was a big weight lifted off my shoulders when they were here and comfortable and settled in.”Though they were overwhelmed with excitement to have their child home, they were also overcome with other emotions.“Bringing him home after the seven days (in the hospital) was nerve-racking, because it’s different working with children than it is when you’re the parent,” said Ashley, referencing her time as a child caregiver. “It’s totally different...you’re like, ‘Where do I start?’”From sudden illness and accidents to their child refusing to eat, the couple worried about the things many parents fear, compounded by Ben’s absence due to training. “You get full of worry,” Ashley said. “That’s the first thing: fear of failing as a parent and then worrying. You’re going to worry as a parent forever, because you want to do it right.”Unfortunately, the Mockovciaks’ fears would soon be realized during an appointment with their son’s pediatrician at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.“The first person to notice the difference was our doctor,” said Ashley. “She listened to his heart and said, ‘It’s something more than a murmur,’ so she recommended we go to a cardiologist.”Two weeks later, Noah’s growth began to slow and it became difficult for him to eat.At approximately 4 a.m. on Jan. 29, 2017, during one of Ben’s weekend trips home from the academy, the couple worked to comfort their crying son, feeding and rocking him in their arms to no avail.The parents’ nightmare soon became reality.“(Ben) tried to walk Noah around, comfort him, and it just wasn’t calming him down, so I asked for (Noah),” said Ashley, voice falling to a near whisper as she recalled the night. “Once my husband put him in my arms, he was coughing and he just stopped completely. There was no movement, he wasn’t responsive, so I kept calling his name.”Calling to the newborn in her arms, she made a horrible realization: Noah was unresponsive.“I heard her yell, ‘Oh my God, he’s not breathing,’ so I ran into the bedroom and you could see Noah’s face was blue and he wasn’t breathing,” said Ben. “I had no idea what to do, so I called 911. They said they were sending an ambulance, which would be about 15 minutes, but it felt like 15 hours just waiting for the ambulance to come.”Years of training guided Ashley. As calm washed over her, she placed her baby on the floor, tilted his delicate head back and started performing CPR.To the Mockovciaks’ relief, Noah responded, regaining consciousness with a cough before the ambulance arrived.As the family arrived at the hospital, they realized their difficult journey was just beginning.When the Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital physicians tended to Noah, they discovered the truth of what happened: he had a heart attack.Sitting in a hospital room, the family was faced with an uncertain future.(To be continued.)Air Force 



Air Force family 



CPR 



AF 



Shaw AFB 



children 



Air Force Base 



neonatal intensive care unit 



neworn 



Month of the Military Child 



health 



family 



Parents 



Airmen 



20th Fighter Wing 



spouses 



love 



Fort Jackson 



CHD 



Congenital heart defects 



Military Spouses 



20th FW Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fight
                    
                    SecAF Kendall AFA Warfare Symposium Q&A: Reoptimizing for Great Power CompetitionInnovation
                AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalists
                    
                    Chief Digital, Artificial Intelligence Office to host hackathon in HawaiiMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil