CHD...Congenital Heart Defect-HUH??
February is American Heart Month. Mean anything to you? Maybe not. In all honestly up until 2010, it didn't to me either. I mean, yea, we do Jump Rope for Heart at school, wear red and eat healthier in the teacher's lounge. But that was about it. But you see in 2010, Mayish, that change. My first daughter Olivia...
was very sick and I had to call the on call doctor at 2 am. I reached Dr. Dana Hartwigsen, who has since moved to Iowa and we are heartbroken. She spent so much time with this distraught mother. She checked and rechecked herself- which meant so much to me- no one knows everything. I instantly knew I was switching to this amazing woman/ doctor. First time I took her in, she remembered us or read her notes/chart whatever. As a mom, OMG that meant so much. I fell in love.
She did her routine stuff and in listening to Olivia's heart, she said "Has she always had this heart murmur?" GULP... Heart sinks, Stomach turns, Eyes well up annnnnd I puke a little in my mouth- sorry for the details! I had no idea what that meant other than her heart was not right. My beautiful baby. We had been to the previous doctor and bazillion times. She never had it then. A Heart murmur?!
Dr. Hartwigsen calmed me down as much as possible. I called my parents (my husband was at the visit) to find out my dad has one. OK, OK. Maybe I can handle this. Maybe.
So...a few weeks later we go to a local heart doctor and because she is so little he refers us to a pediatric cardiologist. Ok, maybe I don't got this. A new doctor a special doctor- for little people? I was supposed to be no big deal. Here we go- PANIC!
So on we go and schedule with Dr. Steven Neuberger. Very kind man, gentle with the little ones and later on I will find THE BEST Pediatric Cardiologist EVER. We take her and he explains she has an ASD (Her oxygen rich blood was leaking into the oxygen poor blood's chamber) as well as Pulmonary Stenosis. HUH?! What the hell does all this mean? Dr. Neuberger did his best to educate and calm us. There was a very good chance it would all heal on it's own. Cool, cool. THAT will happen. Right?! So, follow up visit next year, no restrictions...We are on our way will our broken-hearted baby that we would love forever and ever. All would heal all would be fine. Right?
WRONG.
And that, my friends, was 2010, when heart month became a little more important. It's importance now has exponentially grown. And that change happened in
2013.
In order to try to raise awareness; I will share our personal journey and what happened. I will post our journey throughout the month of February, focusing on the week of 7-14, CHD Awareness week.
CHD's are the #1 birth defect and #1 cause of birth defect related deaths. 1 in 100 babies are born with this defect.
Ours was and we took her home... with it UNDETECTED.
Kellyxxoo
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