Gracelyn's Story: The day before...

Our Story

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.

Monday, April 27, 2015

The day before...

We had a nice weekend just spending time together. We had visitors dropping by up until the last minute. We all managed to stay smiling and strong until our little guy lost it. It was so hard to see. He fell into my arms sobbing. We didn't know exactly why. I can't imagine what is going through his little 8 year old mind. He was afraid for her and afraid for him. She is so lucky to have such a great brother. My mom gave her her prayer blanket last night. I'll post pics of it later. She loved it.

She packed bags with ALL the gifts that she was given. It was like Christmas at our house. We are so appreciative of all the thoughtful people that stopped by to let her know she was cared for. It meant a lot to us. We are grateful to all those that remembered our other children as well. This isn't easy on them. Gracelyn was so brave and patient. We had to do some weird things that we've not done before her other surgeries. She was so great to do whatever we asked.