Jeff and Andee were married in 2003. We were both born and raised in Utah. We have three sweet children. During a 23 week check up with our second child, the baby was diagnosed with Pulmonary Stenosis, a heart defect. She was born on December 16, 2009 when the doctors discovered she actually had Pulmonary Atresia, Tricuspid Atresia and Atrial Ectopic Tachycardia. After she was born she stayed at Primary Children's Medical Center for three weeks. During that time she had a BT Shunt and stent placed in her heart.
On June 4, 2010, Gracelyn received her Glenn shunt. During that time they removed her BT shunt and stent. She is doing great! The next step will be the Fontan procedure some time after she turns two.
We intend for this blog to keep family and friends aware of what's going on as our story progresses. We have learned so much and found strength from the blogs and websites of those that have previously gone through this that we want to share our story for those who will unfortunately face this as well, as there is currently no cure for Congenital Heart Disease. We are grateful for all the prayers on our behalf.
UPDATE: July 2013: Gracelyn was scheduled to have her Fontan this summer. Doctors feel like she is doing so great it can be postponed until next summer. We have recently contacted the Children's Hospital of Boston for second opinion. They believe they have an alternative to the Fontan. In September we will head to Boston to see what they can do for her.
UPDATE: April 2015- Gracelyn had her Fontan surgery on April 27, 2015. She flew through the procedure and recovery. It didn't happen immediately, but by day two she was a beautiful shade of pink.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Gracelyn's first tooth...
Gracelyn hasn't been smiling too much lately, she has actually been quite grouchy. She has had ear infections and started her second kind of medication to try and get those to go away. She has started to drool and eat her fingers this week. It finally hit us that we needed to check for teeth. My baby girl can't get a break in life, she is only three months old and we found a tooth coming in on the bottom. Mr. C didn't get his first tooth until 9 months and so we didn't even consider it a possibility. We have watched the tooth go up and down all week and now you won't find Gracelyn without her two fingers in her mouth. I've been wanting to take some Easter pictures of the kids outside all week, but the weather hasn't been cooperating. Thursday it was awful outside, it snowed, rained or hailed the entire day, but Gracelyn was actually in a good mood. She and I were alone most of the day so I decided we would try to get some of her smiling. I didn't have much success, just a lot of pictures with a drool covered shirt and fingers in her mouth. I love them anyway!
".....Heaven's kindness will never depart from you, regardless of what happens......Bad days come to an end, faith always triumphs, and heavenly promises are always kept."
--Jeffrey R. Holland--
"Life is hard, but life is simple. Get on the path and never, ever give up. You never give up. You just keep on going. You don’t quit, and you will make it."-Lawrence E. Corbridge
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." -Winston Churchill
No comments:
Post a Comment