In January 1973, Ruth realized that she was pregnant again. She was concerned that she would lose the baby as she had with Ethan's twin and the miscarriage she had in the summer. In March Ruth was exposed to German measles. Doctor Halvorson felt that at that stage of the pregnancy the baby could be affected with blindness or deafness because of the exposure. He advised her to have an abortion, but we decided against it.

We anticipated that the baby would be born on August 11th, Ethan's birthday, but the day came and went with no baby. We continued to expect him or her to be born each day but it became obvious that we had miscalculated.

On September 25, we were supposed to go to the annual stake presidency and high council dinner at the Eastside Cafe in Ontario. However after Ruth had gone to Primary and picked Laron up from school, she began to have labor pains. We made arrangements with Jean and Julie Heavrin to take care of the kids and went to the hospital. Our 5th child, a son, was born about half an hour later. We named him Ryan Paul.

When Ryan was two or three weeks old Ruth took him to Dr. Halvorson for a checkup. The doctor spent a long time listening to his chest. Then he said, "I can hear something I haven't heard before." Ruth thought he meant the lungs but, Dr. Halvorson said, "He has a heart murmur." Another baby that Dr. Halvorson delivered also had a heart murmur. Ruth met his mother when she took Ryan to Dr. Halvorson for a check up. After a few weeks that baby died, which caused us great concern for Ryan.

We were to referred to Dr Johnston, a cardiologist, in Boise, who said his heart had a large hole in it. The hole was a grade 4 with 0 being normal and 6 being the worst. That began a long series of visits to cardiac specialists in Boise. We were told to keep Ryan away from crowds and exposure to illness. We would listen to his heart by putting our ears against his chest. It was frightening to hear a whooshing sound rather than a heart beat. We were told he would eventually need surgery to close the opening, but it would be best to wait until he was a little older.

He was to have cardiac X rays every two months, which were hard on him. I wasn't allowed to go with him, and I could hear him crying. He would be upset for a day or two after each time. He became frightened around people dressed in white. Back then, most medical people wore white coats or dresses.

We believe that due to prayers, priesthood blessings and fasts, that he continued to do well, and his visits were scheduled for six months. By the time he was about nine years of age, and we had moved to Heyburn, a local doctor wanted him to return to St. Luke for a cardiac catheterization, which was a pretty big deal. A line was snaked into his heart and a dye was injected to see the flow of blood. Things looked good enough that he needed no further care. However, every time he goes to a doctor even as an adult, there are comments about the sound.