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wvmommie3 It's not my story to tell, but I'll be the narrator since he's only three years old. The day he was born will be etched into my brain and my heart for the rest of my life. I hold it dear and cherish every second of his life.
Looking at him now you wouldn't know there was a problem, or that he's ever been sick. You wouldn't know about his surgeries unless you saw his "boo boo" on his chest. His name is John and he's a three year old little boy. He's strong, bright, beautiful, and healthy. As healthy as we can hope and strive for. He was born with congenital heart disease. I didn't know there was a problem until the day he was born.
After my cesarean I didn't get to touch him until all the tests were complete and the medical staff has a diagnosis. His pediatrician came into my room to explain why I haven't been able to touch my child and that a cardiologist would be in to see me to explain John's CHD. A few hours later, the cardiologist on call, came into my room and explained John's condition. He would have to be monitored, meet with a surgeon, and have surgery to repair his heart. His diagnosis was ventricular septal defect and pulmonary stenosis. He was closely monitor and a ten weeks old he had to undergo open heart surgery to repair the VSD and to open up his pulmonary valve. The surgery took a little longer than we expected because they found two more holes in his heart. This was called an atrial septal defect, or also known as an ASD. It was a bumpy road but he made a wonderful recovery. At eight months old he a wire from his first surgery caused some inflammation, which required another minor surgery to remove the wire.
When I was told about his heart condition I felt like a bomb was dropped on me. I didn't know what congenital heart disease was or anyone that had a child like mine. Since we were going to have to fight this battle for the rest of his life, I thought it would be smart to become educated about his condition.
A congenital cardiovascular defect occurs when the heart or blood vessels near the heart don't develop normally before birth. Scientists really don't know why they occur, but in sometimes a viral infection can cause serious problems and sometimes heredity plays a role.
Pulmonary stenosis, which is an obstruction defect, is a narrowing of the pulmonary valve. This narrowing makes it difficult, if not nearly impossible for the blood to flow from the right ventricle to the lungs. After his surgery, John was only left with 1/4 of his pulmonary valve because of the severity of the narrowing. He will need a valve replacement at a later time.
Artial septal defect is when an opening exists between the heart's two upper chambers. This lets some blood from the left atrium return to the hole to the right artrium instead of flowing through the left ventricle a, out the aorta and to the body.
A ventricular septal defect is when there's an opening between the heart's two lower chambers. Some of the blood that's returned from the lungs and been pumped into the left ventricle flows to the right ventricle through the holes instead of being pumped into the aorta. Babies with VSD may develop severe symptoms or high blood pressure in their lungs.
These are only a brief explanation of my son's diagnosis. There are several different types of congenital defects. Statistic show’s that one out of every one hundred babies born, are born with some form of congenital heart defect. I didn’t realize how many people had to fight such a big battle until I met other families during John’s recovery. One mother I met told me about online support groups for families with children like ours. The support groups are there to share your stories, chat with about daily struggles, and to help each other through the good and bad times.
Today, John healthy, thriving three year old little boy. He has annual check-ups with his cardiologists to monitor the progress of his heart. He will need a valve replacement when he’s older, but now he’s a happy, healthy boy!
about 1 year ago - Comment
