pharyngeal flap is done!

and so are we! We traveled to Vanderbilt Children's hospital on Dec 9, 2010 for Torie's surgery. We were surprised to hear it was going to be a 2 day stay because the letter from the insurance company said 23 hr observation.(that means you stay 23 hours and 59 mins).But after that surprise things went as expected. It took right at 2 hours. My poor baby had stents put in her nose, going down her throat just past the repair. This was to help her breathing, in case of swelling. Torie worried me Thursday and Friday because she would not drink more than 1/4 of a teaspoon at a time, that no more than 2 teaspoons between those days. She also stopped talking. She actually tried mouthing the words to me before she just started pointing to everything. We had some lazy nurses who let her pain med slip past the 4 hour mark, at one time it was 8 hrs-I was not a happy momma. I specifically asked if she had been given the med when we transferred floors and that nurse lied to me and said yes. At shift change, Torie was running a low fever and getting very fussy. I asked the night nurse Bonnie to check on the pain med. It was never picked up from the pharmacy! Bless Nurse Bonnie, she jumped right on it and took wonderful care of Torie. Saturday morning one of the ENTs took out Torie's stents. I didn't watch. Paul said they were about 4 inches long!!! Torie instantly began talking! And within 20 minutes she had ate most of a pop sicle and moved on to a little Sprite. Now, I'll be honest, Dr Gaudy(our ENT) said it would be instant, but really that quick? I was not expecting that. I did tell the ENT we had to be out of there before the bad weather hit, otherwise they would have to keep me until the snow melted! He laughed and said he would start the paperwork, but to let them know if we had any concerns. Nope, we had none..but it took 4 hours before we got out of there. And another 3 hours to get home because of the rain/trip to the pharmacy for meds.
Fast forward to today and I am snowed in at home. I am sure my work is not too thrilled, but even Paul's 4 wheele drive truck was slipping on the ice. Beside, how many people are getting out in this weather to have their well woman exam? Not many!
Now, I must get off here and make my daughter take her meds. She hates them, but they are for her best.

Finally im gonna update!

I know I know, it's been awhile. Sorry!! Things are going well though. Torie finally fully recovered after about 2 weeks. She is loving preschool to the extreme this year. 4 has been a wonderful age for all of us. She is so much fun, her personality really shines now. We painted her room and even painted a chalk board! She loves using chalk and this will give her more indoor activities since cold weather is here. Her pharyngeal flap repair is this week! It is on Thursday at 1:15 pm. I was surprised they put her as an afternoon case. I already told them she will melt down in the lobby because she cannot eat after midnight. Torie is a person who must have food-she's like her parents! If I don't eat I get grumpy too! We will be staying overnight again, due to Torie's heart condition. We always have to make sure her oxygen stays level. On a normal day her level is usually high 90s. She is always doing well in karate class. She is now an orange belt. Unfortunately, once she has surgery she will be out for 3 weeks. Torie is very excited about being a big sister. She even tells the baby goodnight and kisses my belly. I love that she is so excited. Torie will make a great big sister!! I will be full term on Jan 1. lol, my joke has always been that I am going to wake my dr up to delivery a news years baby. Not sure that will happen or not, but it's fun to aggravate him about it!
So, there's my update for now. We are all ready for Christmas break,rest and being fully recovered before the baby comes.

recovery

what a week! Torie did great in surgery and waking up. the dr got a great look at her ears and decided she needed tubes in as well. so she had tubes put in, tonsils and adnoids taken out.
it was taking her pain med that got her. she hated the taste of lortab, poor thing gagged every time she took it. finally, at 4 am tuesday she gagged enough to make herself sick. the nurse finally just started giving her tylenol. the poor girl had an iv in her foot! i felt horrible for her. she couldn't walk because they had her foot wrapped in a "no no"-it stops kids from messing with wires and tubes. torie did feel better after seeing her favorite aunt and cousins. they always make her all better! seeing her preschool teachers made her feel tons better as well. torie was very excited to return to school monday. we are still working on her eating better, but her throat is still so sore and she says her mouth hurts. this recovery week has been long.
her pharyngeal flap repair is now set for Dec 9. it will also be an overnight stay at vandy. i hope and pray that recovery will be much easier!! my big girl is still getting over this one.

surgery day!

Monday we have to travel to Vandy Children's hospital for Torie's tonsil and adnoid surgery. I know she doesn't fully understand what is happening. I talked to her about it, and showed her the video on the hospital website. It did not go well. Torie did not like seeing the pictures of the nurses and doctors in scrubs and masks. I had to turn off the video. I feel the stress of next week. I know Torie is not ready for this. The only thing she wants to do is see the trains in the hospital. I am thinking of asking the doctors if I can have some of their "happy juice" when Torie gets some!! We have to be at Vandy at 6am, so we are leaving around 4 AM!! I am packing our suitcase tonight, just to give myself time to make sure we have everything. I have Torie's school work for next week because I know she won't be going to school for several days. I have stocked up on pedisure, pop sickles, pudding, and gogurts and Tylenol and Motrin. If anyone has any suggestions, I am open to them. Anything that will help her feel better/recover easier is always welcome!

Fun times.

I found a leapfrog dvd about letters and Torie loves it! She walks around the house now saying all her sounds. It has been a great learning tool for her. We also have talking words factory which has been a hit as well.
We spent about an hr at River Front Park this past Wed. Torie loved playing in the sand. I told her to smile so I could take her picture..this is what I got. Miss Sassy!

Don't be fooled by the swing...she was really splashing the puddle beneath it! Any yes, I let her! It was nice to see her run around and play.

It was fun times. I am glad the weather is cooling so we can spend more time outside. I love the fall, the pumpkins and pretty colors on the trees..I can't wait to take pictures!

progress all around

Torie is loving preschool. She tells me about her day when we cuddle at night. She also gets a homework folder every Monday with the previous week's work. She proudly carries her folder through the house to show who ever may be there. She loves it even more when we post it on the fridge! She is really growing right now, making progress with her speech and following directions. She and I have even made a couple of groc shopping trips with out meltdowns. For most kids, that easy. For a child who gets over stimulated easily, those trips have been far between. Her tonsillectomy and anoidectomy are set for Sept 27. She will stay over night because of her heart condition. We have to make sure she is drinking enough fluids before coming home. We take no chances of her becoming dehydrated. Her next surgery has not been set yet, but I will post that when I know. I hope she is well enough to make her class trip to the pumpkin patch this fall. I would love to get some great fall pics, if I can get the day off work. Otherwise, we may just go on a weekend.

you gotta watch this!

http://houston.astros.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=10798761

worst boyfriend ever! well, maybe not ever, but pretty close. He totally dodged it! hmm, wonder what he did to make up for that?!? lol. i am guessing her parents are not letting him forget about this anytime soon-i sure wouldn't!

things NOT to say

ok, I didn't make this myself. I found it on another blog, which now I cannot get back to so I can't link it. Anyway, I thought these sound so familiar that I would post them. The lady that created this had a great idea!

10 things to avoid saying to a pregnant woman:

1. Your life is never going to be the same! - They have probably figured that one out already. Don't make it sound like you are glad they are joining the fraternity of misery or that you really have always envied their freedom. Please encourage them. Tell them the fun things you do with your kids. Tell them how much you love your kids and how thankful you are for them.
2. Was this baby planned? - PERSONAL! Assume that it was, especially if you are talking to an adult woman. Just say congratulations! How do you feel? You're happy for them!
3. Are you glad it's a ________? - Again, PERSONAL! Most often individuals asking this are projecting their own feelings into the answer. If the pregnant couple wants to share their thoughts on this issue they will, otherwise believe they are happy about the baby whether it is a boy or a girl.
4. You don't look pregnant or you are huge! - Do not comment on their size! If they "don't look pregnant" they hear you saying that they just look fat. If they are "huge" that comes as no surprise to them. :-) Simply tell them they look wonderful! They are beautiful! Both are always welcome comments.
5. Are you going to ________ - Personal questions that come with strong opinions and judgments should be avoided. Are you going to breastfeed? Go back to work? Have natural childbirth? Send him/her to college? You would be amazed at the things people will ask only to continue with a litany of the way they think it should be done. There is plenty of time to think about most of those decisions.
6. Should you be eating/drinking/doing that? - Remember how anxious you were when you were expecting your first child. The first emotion for parents is guilt! LOL You are already certain you aren't doing things right long before the baby is born. Try to be encouraging and kind rather than critical.
7. Wait until I tell you __________ - DO NOT share your horror story. No bad delivery or colicky baby reports. Wait until after the baby is born so the new mom can share her story too. Otherwise you are simply adding to her anxiety!
8. Are you going to have more babies? - Whoa! Let this one get born first! It seems that there are lots of thoughts on the preferred size for families. At this moment, the idea of having one sweet cooing baby is perfect, having a dozen screaming children is not.
9. I can't believe your _______ weeks, your pregnancy is going so fast! - Who are you kidding! No matter how fast you think it is going, for a woman who is not only growing but is growing more and more uncomfortable it cannot be fast enough.
10. This is unspoken, but do not touch the bump! - Unless you have been invited to do so, please do not touch the baby bump.

I do remember a lady trying to touch my stomach when I was carring Torie. I was looking down at the desk and suddenly a hand was moving toward me! I backed away as I looked up and a lady I wasn't even friends with was standing there smiling. Really?!? Hmm. um NO.

4 years already!

We celebrated Torie's 4th birthday this past Sunday. I worked all morning on her Tinkerbell cake. At one point of decorating the cake, Torie was watching and she hugged me and said "Thank you for my birthday momma!" It totaly melted my heart and made standing for 3 hrs working on the cake worth it.
Torie was too excited to do anything but run around all day talking about her birthday party! And when her cousins arrrived, she literally ran down the hall screaming with excitment. It was all too funny. All the kids played on the blow up water slide and a couple played on the slip n slide. Thank you to everyone that came and made this year a great birthday for Torie. She is still talking about splashing people with water and how much fun she had.
Torie's 4 yr old well child check up went great on Monday...I was not aware that she would be getting 3 shots though! She cried during those, but that was the only time!! She did not even cry when they did a finger stick for blood work! Such a big girl.
We heard from Vandy about her next appt. It will be Aug 11 starting at 8:30, with 4 appts that day! She starts with a speech evalutation, then a nasal scope at 10:30 where they will look at her flap and ask her to say several words and phrases. Then onto a audiology at 1 and finally back to the ENT at 1:40..What a day!! We will all be worn out by the time we leave, but I hope we can make a trip downstairs to see the trains-she loves those trains.

long day

This day started so well...Torie was even excited about going to the dr! We left in plenty of time, only to run into "construction" on the interstate. Except when I got to the "construction" they were only loading things into a truck! Torie spent the hour and a half waiting in the lobby coloring and playing with her markers. She did extremely well! I am so proud of her. The ENT, Dr Guady, was awesome. He confirmed my thoughts about Torie's pharyngeal flap. She will need surgery to correct it. We have to do a few things first, see the Vandy speech group, a scope to see her flap, and probably an MRI of her neck/throat to make sure her carotid(sp?) artery is not in the way. Then we can proceed to surgery. It will be a major surgery, with a full 6 weeks of recovery. So, if you have any liquid diets throw them at me-cause we will need them. Imagine having your tonsils removed to the extreme, with a mouth full of stitches. But without it, her speech can never improve because her flap cannot close. This is a step we must take to help Torie. We made a trip to the 1st floor to play with the choo choo trains after our visit. I always reward her good behavior with a play trip. The trains are too fun for me as much as her! We finally made it home a bit after 7 pm--8 hrs after we left. It sure was a long day. But one that we had to make. Torie has handled the day very well. We are both worn out and so ready for bed!

moving right along

wow, this summer is moving right along, isn't it? Torie's birthday is getting here quicker and quicker! Her party will be the 25th, invites will go out next weekend. Torie has even told me a few friends that she wants to invite, and of course that she wants a tinker bell cake. I have everything I need to make the cake and matching cup cakes! I love baking her cakes every year. As a matter of fact, I love everything about doing her birthday party. It is a celebration of life and survival in my eyes. While we do not go all out for her party, we do try to make it special her her. This year will be water fun and a cook out at our house. See you soon!

prayer

the strength of prayer is greater than anything else, we all know that. Right now a family friend is having a hard time with chemo and could really use your prayers. He has 3 young children along with some grown children and a very loving wife who could also use the strength of prayer right now.
on another note. prayers have been answered in our house lately. Torie is doing well, not as sick as often as she was last year. She is doing well in daycare too. She is talking almost non-stop about her birthday party next month. She keeps saying she wants a birthday hat with her name on it, and for everyone to sign happy birthday Victoria. lol. Summer vacation only has about 6 weeks left, then preschool starts. I know we will love being in the big kids class and seeing her teachers again. It looks like we have lots of changes coming!

29 years later....

and a 6th Degree Black Belt looks like this.

see all the white? that shows all the work that has been done since earning this Black Belt. Kinda odd how you start as a white belt wanting your Black Belt...but then when you earn your Black Belt, you want it to turn white like this!

Yes, Paul earned his 6th Degree Black Belt on June 17, 2010. He has totally earned this promotion. Pictured are Gary Steele, Paul and Mr Bill Taylor. Mr. Taylor came in from Murfreesboro to help do Paul's belt exam. Mr Taylor's schools are strictly traditional, so he gave Paul a great work out during the traditional karate portion of his exam!! I am very proud of Paul for all of his hard work and training.

determination

Determination at it's best! That is my nephew during is game last week. and in case you cannot read the caption, it says he won the race. Great job Alex!!
On the other side of determination is his big sister Kali who finished her school year with As for the entire year!!
Such great kids they are!!
Good Job to both of you!!

where has time gone?

Time has been going fast around here. I hit my 12 year mark of training martial arts. It has been a long journey filled with tons of hard work, lots of sweat, tears, some blood and a couple of broken bones...and a Fourth degree Black Belt. It is something that I use in my daily life, it's something that I know can use defend myself or others at any time, it's something that I can help others do and use as well.

I got my second call from preschool saying Torie hurt herself. This time, she was standing on the slide and fell off-head first into the mulch. Her poor face was scrapped and I really thought she was going to have a black eye. I felt bad that she scared her teachers. Luckily, Aunt Kim picked her for me and kept a close eye on her until I got off work.

She was not happy that I took her picture. She even told me to throw it away!

Torie also made it through her first year of preschool. She loved her teachers and we enjoyed her end of the year party at Rock Island. I wished I had taken my camera but I wasn't thinking too well!

At the beginning of the month I took some pics of Kacie and her boyfriend Sean. He is leaving soon for the National Guard, and we wish him all the best!!

On the other side of the pictures was the rising river. It was flooding in Nashville that weekend, and our river was quickly rising as well.

Needless to say, we didn't spend too much time on the greenway.

11 years!!

Can you guess what happened 11 years ago today?? I'll post pictures this weekend, but I will give you a hint-It's been one of the best journey's of my life!!! Let me know what you think!

april brings..

April showers bring May flowers! I love seeing all the blooming flowers, and new spring life!! Torie also loves the flowers, and enjoys blowing all the dandelions. she also enjoys picking random flowers when we walk around the block. I just haven't the heart to explain we don't put dandelions and other various weeds in the vase. she is too sweet. Mother's Day is coming soon-have you made plans for your mom yet? I already know what I am giving my mother, something I know she can and will enjoy!! I hope everyone enjoys the weekend. I am very much looking forward to the photoshoot I have planned.

it's almost over...

The school year is almost over!! I am excited to know that Torie has done well at school, but kinda sad at the same time. Sometimes I wish I was a school teacher so I could spend the summer with her... I feel like I am missing so much right now, and it is really getting to me. Do all working parents feel this way? Anyone have any ideas how I could stay at home and still pay bills? LOL. ugh, if only we could sell the other house. well, I would be a step closer anyway!

It's official!

We are putting our old house up for sell! Papers have been signed, and things seem like they are good to go! I am excited to get rid of the house payment, but kinda sad at the same time. That house has almost all of Torie's 1st's...1st bites of food, 1st steps, 1st crawl-1st potty training experience..all the good stuff, lol. BUT, we are happy with the house we are living in. Torie is growing up in the house Paul grew up in, so it's kinds fun. If anyone wants to buy a 2 bed room house with a privacy fence let me know!!

walk around the block...

I believe Torie has enjoyed her spring break. She got to play with her cousins and enjoy some of their birthday cake. yes, both my niece and nephew are a year old! Happy Birthday you two! Torie got to meet a former student of ours, Lindsey, who spent a few days with us. It was fun. Lindsey is a very smart girl-top 9% in her class! But she had to make her way back to Fl, so we will have to plan another trip soon.Tonight, after eating supper at the picnic table, we walked around the block a couple times. 2 laps = 1.2 miles. Torie made all but one side of the last lap!! That is the most she has done when we take our family walks. It was tons of fun to see her run with Paul and Andre (black lab). The 2nd lap we took Alexa(husky), and I ran with her. Paul and Torie ran most of the 2nd lap. I am very proud of her! And no dogs tried to attack me this time-woo hoo! Tomorrow is back to school for everyone, and back to the daily grind. School is almost out, so we are making plans for the summer! Hmm, Florida in summer or fall? I think Fall, but that's just me. We shall see!!

she's getting so big!

I have spent the past several days reflecting Torie's surgery. If I think about what we were doing 3 yrs ago at this moment in time, I can honestly say it scares me. It scares me to think about what could have happened, and what could still happen, what Torie's life will be like 10 years from now, and even 20 or 30 years from now. But at this minute, in real life, she is sleeping. I wish my cell pic was decent enough to post here. Torie was holding her Dora ball, and as she fell asleep, she slowly leaned onto the ball. the ball is now her pillow!! Torie was at karate last night and grabbed my hands are started singing ring around the Rosy! It was too cute! This was the very first time she sang the whole song all by herself. She is growing, and I love it. We are getting ready for a huge yard sale next weekend and Torie is 100% okay with getting rid of her old toys and what not. I even had to stop her from giving up her newest Christmas toys, lol. But I am proud of her willingly giving away things. I love planning Torie's birthday parties n advance...I mean, several months early. I had her 2nd birthday party planned 7 mos before her party! So of course I am already thinking of her 4th. I told Paul last night that maybe we should just go with Independence Day. Not just because her birthday is July and everything is about our freedom, but because Torie is becoming more independent! We put her on a scale the other day and she weighed almost 36 pounds! I was shocked. No wonder why she hurts my back!! I am doing my best to remember all the good things about Torie's time in the hospital. Yes, the first 48 hrs were full of scary times. But I met some wonderful people there! There was a little boy 2 rooms down in the picu. He was probably 2 or 3. He had no visitors. None. No family or anyone else. It was very sad. How could someone leave their baby alone like this?? Then it hit me...maybe the parents didn't have custody? The grandma next door asked me and I said I had no idea, only that I was praying for him as much as mine. Well, grandma asked the nurse! LOL. The nurse simply said he didn't have parents anymore....But he should have someone right? Well, no one ever came for him. The 3rd day in picu, he began crashing. The cardiothracic surgeon, the cardiologist and the residents all came running. The nurses closed off the hall and that little boy had emergency open heart surgery RIGHT THERE IN THE PICU!! I still remember the moment I realized what was happening. I prayed as hard for him and the doctors as I did Torie. The boy was still in the picu when Torie was moved to the cardiac floor, so I have no idea what ever happened to him. But I hope he is doing well.
Torie and I will enjoy the warm weather when she wakes up. My knee hurts and has a ton of pressure on it ( i have a pocket of fluid on my knee) but I am walking the block. and this time-I am carrying the Freeze + P spray! For those that don't know, a neighbor's dog tried to attack me last weekend. Thank God for Alexa (Torie's husky) who jumped between me and the attacking dog. She scared him away!! This time, I will spray it.

3 years

This is always a day for reflection. Reflecting how far Torie has came, overcoming a congenital heart defect, open heart surgery and life with Di George Syndrome. Today marks 3 years since we did our office pre op for her Tetrology of Fallot repair-her open heart surgery at just 8 months old. I can't help but remember spending all day with the nurse and staff, and the unforgettable time with the cardiothorasic surgeon signing her operative permit. yes, we give you permission to repair the whole in her heart, yes we give you permission to repair the muscle that is too think to work correctly, yes we give her permission to replace her valve with a cow valve..o wait, what? a cow valve? O, that's how you do it? O, I didn't realize....So, yes, we give you permission to put a cow valve in our baby girl.......
I remember squeezing Torie so tightly at those words. I made poor Paul sign the papers, telling him I just couldn't do it. I remember seeing my tears stain the paper on exam table. I remember the nurse ( who I still hug today when I see her) handing me a tissue. I remember thinking I was going to throw up...and I remember the fear. The fear has never left. It is always with me. We spent the night at the Ronald McDonald House. Thank God for that place!! I remember us strapping Torie into her stroller and just walking..and walking...and walking until we realized we were back at Vandy. So we just made a square path and kept walking until we got back to the Ronald McDonald House. Then we ate and cuddle the rest of the night. I kept watching the other people around us, wondering what brought them to the same place as us. If their loved one was a child or an adult? If they were feeling the same as us....I remember going to bed and just wanting to scream and cry myself to sleep.

warm weather!

Finally, some warm weather! We are getting the other house cleaned up and ready to sell. If you know of anyone who wants to buy a house, let me know! It's in town, 3 minutes from the hospital and about 7 from the plaza shopping center. We are also enjoying the sun. It was so nice to play outside this weekend. Torie got to jump on her trampoline and ride her tricycle. Actually, instead of riding hers, she wanted to ride Paul's old tricycle. She kept saying " I want to ride my daddy's tricycle." It was too cute.
I want to ask that everyone continue to keep Katie in your thoughts and prayers. She is still having fluid on her lungs. It seems like she will be heading back to Atlanta for another hospital stay. I am not 100% sure what all they will do, but I hope that it will only be a short stay. Katie is almost 4, so it would be wonderful for her to be back home and doing well by the time her birthday gets here!

Perfectly written...

What is a CHD?
by Shannon Arnold Smith

What is a CHD? You passed me in the shopping mall...(You read my faded tee)You tapped me on the shoulder...Then asked...`"What's a CHD?"I could quote terminology. ..There's stats that I could give...But I would rather share with you...A mother's perspective.What is it like to have a child with a CHD?It's Lasix,aspirin, Captopril. .. .It's wondering... Lord what's your will?...It's monitors and oxygen tanks...It's a constant reminder...to always give thanks...It's feeding tubes, calories, needed weight gain...It's the drama of eating...and yes it's insane!It's the first time I held her...(I'd waited so long)It's knowing that I need...to help her grow strong...It's making a hospital...home for awhile...It's seeing my reward...in every smile.It's checking her sats...as the feeding pump's beeping...It's knowing that there... is just no time for sleeping...It's caths,x-rays and boo boos to kiss...It's normalcy...I sometimes miss...It's asking...do her nails look blue?It's cringing inside... at what she's been through.It's dozens of call to her pediatrician. ..(She knows me by name...I'm a mom on a mission)It's winter's homebound... and hand sanitizer...It's knowing this journey...has made me much wiser.It's watching her sleeping...her breathing is steady...It's surgery day...and I'll never be ready.It's handing her over...( I'm still not prepared...)It's knowing that her heart... must be repaired...It's waiting for news...on that long stressful day...It's ...praying.. .it's hoping...that she'll be okay.It's the wonderful friends... with whom I've connected...It's the bond that we share...it was so unexpected.. .It's that long faded scar... down my child's small chest...It's touching it gently...and knowing we're blessed...It's watching her chasing...a small butterfly...It's the moment I realized...I've stopped asking...why?It's the snowflakes that fall...on a cold winter's day...(They remind me of those...who aren't with us today)It's a brave little boy...who loved Thomas the train...Or a special heart bear...or a frog in the rain....It's the need to remember...we are all in this plight....It's their lives that remind us... we still need to fight!It's in pushing ahead amidst every sorrow...It is finding the strength to have hope for tomorrow.And no...we'll never be the same...It's changed our family...This is what we face each day...This is...a CHD

A poem for the day!

I Corinthians 13

Valentine's Day is a day of love,
For showing that we care,
And if we read the Bible,
God describes love there:

If we speak like celestial angels
From heaven up above,
All our words mean nothing
If we don’t have Christian love.

Love is patient, love is kind;
It doesn’t brag or boast;
Love conquers pride and envy;
It is never self-engrossed.

Love is not rude or angry;
Forgiveness counters wrong;
Love stays away from evil;
It sings a truthful song.

Love is full of trust and hope;
It always perseveres;
Love never fails; It’s faithful;
To the Bible it adheres.

And if you give this kind of love
To your special Valentine,
You’ll be loving right in harmony
With God’s own sweet design.

By Joanna Fuchs

From day 1...

see that paci? it's called a gumdrop...and not their not easy to find. thank goodness for ebay!

the above picture is a rare one...she doesn't have her scar just yet...

want to share our story, for those you that do not know it. I had a wonderful pregnancy; I ate well, I drank water ALL the time, I kept training martial arts( hey, it was safe) and I even taught my children's brown belt class the night before I delivered! My students were children, and they were understanding when I said I couldn't kick above my waist, but did expect them too! lol. I miss those kids. They will always remain in my heart. Anyway, my labor and delivery was quick-too quick to get the epidural! We spent the night with two pediatricians arguing about Torie's heart. 1 thought it was "just a heart murmur, she'll out grow it" and the 2nd saying it was more. As many times as we asked to see Torie, they kept saying no-you can after the tests are done. I FINALLY got to see her around 4am-after her 7:49 pm birth! yes, it took that long before I could see her. I was more than scared-I was terrified. I had no idea what to ask, to say or do. Finally a ped cardiologist came in around 6 and said "your daughter has Tetralogoy of Fallot and will need open heart surgery soon. I am sending you to Vanderbilt." It was that simple for him. I sat in my bed watching him walk out of the room. I remember looking at Paul and thinking to myself "what have I done? What did I do wrong?" I bawled-a lot. Paul is a wonderful husband who held me and let me cry. While neither one of us truly understood what was happening yet, we knew we had God and each other.
There I sat in my bed, with the doctor walking out of the room leaving me with nothing. NOTHING! No explanation, no answers, no help-just a few simple sentences ending "sending her to Vanderbilt" I was so scared. I didn't think I would ever feel that scared again! The nurse practitioner from Vandy came later. With a quick medical explanation that left me with more questions than answers, she gave me a t shirt for Torie that said " I took my first ride on Angel" How cute. I got one last look at my baby and my family and I walked with her to Angel.
Here, I want to add a small story about another baby, a baby boy. He too rode Angel to vandy. I watched his poor family walk down the hall in front of us-they were all crying and the priest and nun were walking with them. This baby boy was gray. He was doing very bad. I learned the next day(Monday) that he did not make it home. That family lost their baby boy. I wish them the very best in life.
When Paul & I arrived at Vandy, we were greeted by the worlds best nurse ever-try to disagree me-I dare you! Judith was the perfect 1st nurse for us, she took us straight to our baby. It was different than I expected. But at the same time, I had no idea what to expect. There was my lil girl, with ivs and wires going everywhere. Judith gingerly picked up Torie and handed her to me. I sit here smiling at myself because I remember thinking " what do I do now?" LOL. I am such a first time mom! I sat and rocked my baby. Paul and I rubbed her hair, hands, fingers and toes. Our pretty little girl looked so perfect-except the blue around her lips. What?!? I almost panicked. Paul quietly said Judith's name and she stepped into our little cubby area. That NICU is so small but efficient! She took Torie from me and gently explained that was part of her heart problem. Paul & I both looked confused I am sure. So Nurse Judith explained it to us a bit more. Then two of the finest doctors ever walked into our cubby and into our lives. Dr David Parra and Dr Greg Fleming.

This is Dr Parra.

Dr Parra is a cardiologist and Dr Fleming is a resident. Judith took care of my baby while Dr Parra explained Torie's heart and how it could be repaired. Repaired but not cured?? What? No, there is not cure for heart defects, you can only treat the symptoms. Dr Parra quickly told me that her heart defect had nothing to do with anything I had ate or drank during my pregnancy. I was just as quick to point out that I had never drank anything worse than sun drop! I think I gave the poor doctor my entire health history in 30 words or less! I have never done drugs/smoked/drank and I work out as much as possible. But it did make me feel better, just knowing that someone knew it was not my fault. The next day was Monday. yep that was all sunday-Torie's 2nd day of life!
Monday we moved up to the card floor. Torie's ivs came out and she was on room air! Woo Hoo! even better, as soon as I walked into her room the nurse had just finished putting a teen tiny shirt on Torie. I told her a quick story of how I always handed my niece and nephew back to Kim when they needed changing saying "here ya go mom!" well, wouldn't you know that nurse smiled and said " Here you go Mom!" I felt myself beam. lol. It still makes me smile. Mom-my new name. Paul and I spent the next 24 hrs on the card floor.
Up there, we had our own room that had everything a hotel room has-minus a full size bed. But you learn to sleep on that couch somehow. We spent most of Monday in the room with Torie, neither one of us wanted to leave. So we minimized our trips to the dinning area. I rocked Torie so much. Even though she did not have ivs, she did have monitors stuck to her little body everywhere. There was a monitor for her blood pressure, her heart rate, her O2 saturation, how many breathes she took per minute-still so many wires! I remember her 1st bottle she took all of 7 cc! That was it. The nurses and doctors kept saying she needed to eat more. Throughout the day she gradually moved up to 10cc and pretty well stuck to that. Somewhere during Monday night, she actually drank almost 15cc and were all excited. I know that may seem like no big deal, but it is. Dr Parra also told us that they had drew Torie's blood on Sunday to do a FISH test, to check for chromosome problems. I didn't have a family history and neither did Paul, so why worry right? We made it through Monday night into Tuesday morning. My sister called saying she and my mom were coming to visit. I was scared for them to see Torie with wires everywhere. I did not understand everything, so how was I going to explain them? well, Dr Parra came in and gave us great news-Torie was stable and there was nothing they were doing that we could not do at home...so we were going home around lunch! Paul and I were so excited! I called Kim, but they were already on the road. Paul had already packed because he had to be at work that afternoon, so I quickly threw all of my stuff into bags and Paul loaded them into the truck. it was just a matter of waiting at this point. My family got there and they each held Torie for a couple of minutes. Then something else happened. A social worker came in and TOLD Torie's full diagnosis IN FRONT OF MY MOM. My poor mom does not handle things like this well, and I actually thought she was going to fall out of her chair. I was torn-I actually did not know what to say. This social work explained that Torie will always have congenital heart disease and we should consider putting her on disability because that is the life she will lead. Ok, let me say right here I have no opinion on anyone on ssi, but it really threw me off when she said to put a baby on it. I had never heard of that-aren't all babies incapable to doing things to an extent? Little did I know what she really meant. That lesson was to come later. So the worker leaves and the nurse is taking off all the wires to Torie's monitors. We are discharged with detailed instructions:

DO NOT BY ANY MEANS LET HER CRY-AT ALL.

SHE COULD HAVE A TET SPELL(turning blue from a lack of O2) PASS OUT OR POSSIBLY DIE.

DO MAKE SURE SHE EATS EVERY 2 HOURS NO MATTER WHAT.

CALL 911 WITH ANY PROBLEMS

umm, gee and your sending me home like this?!? Thanks.We packed our trucks and headed home. When we arrived Paul had to leave for work, so it was just us two girls. I took Torie to her room and showed her the crib and her toys. But we snuggled into the couch, lol. I remember making a two ounce bottle, and only 1/2 being ate.Over the next several weeks we focused on Torie eating. She was so little. Kim drove Torie and me to Vandy on 9-11 for a card check up. Torie was in the 3% for wt! That's when Dr Parra put Torie on increased calories. He wanted her to have open heart surgery before rsv, cold and flu season came. I asked what happened if she was just small like me and didn't grow a whole lot my then. another lesson a learned later. So, we saw a nutritionist and learned how to make increased calories in formula. We con’t with visits to Dr Parra every month. At our November visit he said we needed to set up a surgery date. O my God! This is really happening. They are going to take my baby from me and do open heart surgery on her! Can't their be another way? Something else we can do? That doctor made me cry-right there in his office.
Dr Parra told us that he wanted Torie to have her repair before flu season. Torie was still very small and wearing preemies even though she was 3 1/2 months old. It was a debate-she needed the repair but was she big enough? The plan was to pick a surgeon, set a date and pre op and go for it. So, Paul and I met DR David Bichell:

This man holds all of my hopes and dreams in his hands-he better have strong hands! Actually, Dr Bichell has awesome hands-you should see him draw a picture of a heart!
We still have the drawing he did of Torie's heart-it's in her hand dandy notebook with everything else. He went into great detail of what was wrong: 1 vsd-a hole in her heart preventing O2 from going through her body. 2. a muscle that is too thick and is putting extra work on a valve. 3. That same valve is not letting blood flow thru correctly, and must be replaced with a cow valve. A cow valve? I wanted to throw up! Was this really happening?!? Omy, what DID I do for this to happen?? Dr Bichell went on to say the repair would take 4-6 hrs.
On to pre admitting: Kim drove us again. Bless her heart-I could never have a better sister! We got to spend the entire day at Vandy with Carol, Dr Bichell's nurse. She is a very sweet lady! We went through an ekg, echocardiogram and chest x-ray. On Sunday I got a phone call from Dr Bichell-Torie's echo showed a main artery lying over her vsd-imagine a water hose lying across a hole in the ground. He would not be able to do her repair after all. Torie needed to grow more.
Torie was still small, but slowly starting to grow by mid Dec. She 4 1/2 months old and wearing 0-3 mo clothes...I started baby food-fruits, and cereal. She LOVED the food! As soon as she saw the spoon for the first time, she opened her little mouth and leaned forward, lol. It was too cute. So, we followed up with Dr Parra in Jan 2007 for her next cardiac visit. Torie O2 was 99 and her vitals were ok. Her bp was off a little so we began our first medicine-4 times a day. We were finally sleeping most of the night, and now we had to start waking her! Well, Dr Parra said that since Torie was doing so well, that we could skip Feb and come back in March. I remember looking at him like he was crazy. He reminded me I could call if needed, but he felt she would be okay....lesson learned later(again!) By this time we did know Torie had Di George Syndrome-a deletion of chromosome 22. Torie actually only has a small deletion-the short arm of chromosome 22. This syndrome affects every person differently. Some have severe symptoms and some people do not have any at all. We went through an immunologist and learned that Torie's immune system is weak, but is within normal limits. THANK GOD! so, our next visit is March.
So, we skipped February's cardiac visit. Torie's O2 had been good, so I had this hope in my heart and in my head that maybe, just maybe, we wouldn't have to do the repair. Maybe she would just stay stable. All mom's have that hope right? At least all good mom's do! So I got a job offer to work for Dr Good again-he moved to Tullahoma! I was supper excited to have a family friend move back, and to have my old job again! Kim immediately said she would watch Torie all day so I could work. Such a blessing she is! So I start work at the end of Feb. Torie has her card appt in the 1st wk or so of March. That day was hell. I am not going to lie about it-it scared me so deep down inside that I did not know what to do...remember when I said that I never thought I could be as scared as I was at her birth-this day proved me wrong! The worse nurse ever was trying to get Torie's vitals. Torie was restless and just wanted her bottle and a nap. This lady kept going until Torie did exactly what she was not supposed to do-CRY. And boy did she every cry! I kept trying to calm her, but since her back was to me, she could not see me and it was not working. A few other nurses came in, trying to help get vitals and calm her. They finally gave up and I turned Torie to me and held her. The nurse put us in an exam room and I gave Torie her bottle. She quickly went to sleep and looked so peaceful. Dr Parra asked for an O2 monitor to be brought in a left on her. I just thought it was to get a good reading, since she had cried so much. He came back into the room a few minutes later and said " That was a tet spell. Dr Bichell is out of town but I put her on his surgery schedule for next Wednesday." I broke down. There is no other way to describe what I did. I looked at my baby and cried-HARD. Kim had tears in her eyes but did her best to stay composed. Since I could not see Torie, Dr Parra explained that she had turned blue and her O2 had dropped really bad...later-after the ohs, Kim told me it had actually dropped into the 60's!! From being so stable in Jan to this?!? I have never felt so bad for Dr Parra in my life-he made me cry and I could see in his face that he hated that part of his job. We made our way through that appt someway, somehow. But the next week Dr Bichell's nurse called stating we had to wait another wk and a half because Dr Bichell was going to be out of town. This man travels-a lot! lol. So, we are officially moved to pre admit on March 26, 2007. Open Heart Surgery was set for 7am on March 27, 2007. Again, I was so scared, but yet I had even more anger in me.

See, where I had that hope that she would never need surgery, all those prayers every day, multiple times a day, family prayers, even my students and their families were praying-but at that time it seemed to be a waste because she still had to have ohs. I was so angry at God, that I stopped praying. I could not say or think a word to God. How could God do this?!? What lesson was He trying to teach me?!? and WHY did it have to be through my child, my 8 month old baby?!?
So, I was filled with anger. I could not understand what was happening or why it had to happen. She was so little and just a baby. Paul and I pushed through our fear and anger someway. I am not sure how we did it, but we did. We had to pre admit the day before the surgery, so we spent the entire Monday at Vandy. We even had one of their pagers so we could go eat while they worked on paperwork and make arrangements for us. We barely got a room at the Ronald McDonald house-we were literally about to leave vandy and drive back home for the night. I am glad we got to stay there though; we went walking that evening, just strolling along. But as night fell, I became so scared that I could not let go of Torie for anything. we had to do a pre op bath and use certain things during bath time. Torie didn't care-she loves the water no matter what! We cuddled so much that night. The next morning we made our way to the 3rd floor of the hospital. We were the first one's there, but it seemed like forever before we got started. Torie was SO hungry and wanted a bottle so badly, but I couldn't feed her. I felt bad but knew it would cancel her surgery. The nurses had to cath her to get an urine sample, and Torie faught back HARD. Poor thing. Then she went to sleep again. I was trying to let her sleep on the bed, but wanted to hold her so bad. Since she was asleep the crazy OR nurses decided it would be the perfect time to take her...I guess they were right but I wasn't ready-AT ALL. As they walked off, I burst into tears. I wanted to sit in the floor and cry. I actually felt my body crumble against Paul. Our wonderful pre op nurse gave him the tissues and told me to take all the time I needed. I really did try to compose myself, but I am not sure how well I did. At that point, I knew the next 4-6 hours were going to be hell all over again. My baby was out of my reach and I couldn't do a thing about.My family came along with a friend from karate. We all paced around the hospital-and to the pharmacy-poor Paul had woke up with pick eye!! Thanks for Dr Good and Delynne for calling in some medicine for him! So we made our back to the OR waiting area. We had received 2 calls saying how things were going. It had started off smooth.

Then I saw him-Dr Bichell. But it had only been 3 hours-it was too soon.

"Go back! Go back in there with Victoria!" I was SCREAMING in my head. "It's too soon-go back!" I looked at Paul and he looked at me. Dr Bichell made eye contact and came over to us. I remember standing and walking toward him. He smiled. "He's smiling-that has to be good right?" He said the greatest things I have ever heard from a doctor " It was not as bad I thought. I did not have to replace the valve at all. She did well and is in recovery." I almost jumped on him then and there-but I didn't. We talked for a couple of more minutes and then sat back down. We had several hours still before we could see Torie. My goal is to help you realize what families go through. This disease kills more babies every year than the top 5 cancers COMBINE. Food for thought.

Some babies do well, while others do not. Torie's 1st night in picu was a long one. She had problems when they tried to turn off the breathing machine-she didn't start breathing. Umm, not a small problem. Not a small anything when you wake up (I was sleeping in a chair) and see a doctor beside your baby and a nursing squeezing a bad of air into your baby’s lungs. I sat straight up and they quickly realized I was awake too. The machine was quickly turned back on of course. But I am not sure when my own heart started again. The next morning was wed and I was about to booted out for shift change. But again-something was wrong. The chambers of her heart were not working together, in synch. The nurse turned on the pacer wires that were connected to her heart-basically a pace maker on the outside. As the doctors and nurse gathered around her, they were explaining to me what was happening. Paul got stuck in the hallway because it was shift change. The charge nurse came looking for me, because Paul had tried to get through and she knew I was still in Torie's room. I was standing behind her bed, out of the way, so when she came looking for me and said I needed to leave....let's just say she accepted the look I shot her and a nice nurse saying I was about to leave. The charge nurse just said okay and walked away. Um, yeah, good luck trying to make me leave then! I waited until our favorite resident said things were going to be okay. Torie was not showing any signs of distress, it was all based on what the machine was showing. Her O2 and Bp were stable, so they were not going to panic. I finally left, 15 min later. Poor Paul was outside in the hall, only getting bits through text msgs. I told him all that had happened and started crying all over again. Torie did have a good day though. She stay stable and even came off the breathing machine in the evening shift change! We survived that night and Thursday. Friday seemed to last forever because Paul was back at work. I was alone in the huge hospital with hundreds of strangers. It's odd how you can be surrounded by that many people and still be alone. Friday night around 10 we got to move up to the cardiac floor! That mean we were in a big room and I could close the door! It also meant I got a couch vs a chair to sleep on. It was nice to actually stretch out and sleep, lol. Paul came up Saturday and stayed the night. On Sunday my parents came and saw Torie. I had made them wait until her chest tubes, pacer wires and ivs were all out. At that point Torie was drinking juice and eating real food again! She was so happy to see people visit. By Monday, I was ready to leave...while everyone was supper nice, I just wanted to be at home with my family. We had a wonderful nurse named Mercedes who whispered that if Torie's O2 cont to be stable, then we were going to leave on Tuesday. Needless to say, Torie and I had a nice heart to heart! We both wanted to be home in our own beds and were tired of the hospital. So Tuesday morning while Paul was teaching day class at karate, Kim came to visit and bring us home. We were all very excited. We made a quick stop at the ped's office to get Torie's last synigus (sp?) injection. A cold or rsv was the last thing we needed! Torie did well over the next several weeks. Her energy picked up, and she cut her first tooth exactly 1 wk after leaving vandy! Torie was finally allowed to go around people! She made her first visits to karate, family and friends. It was nice to get out of the house with her. She picked up her developmental skills and had a few growth spurts.fast forwd to now, at 3 ½ yrs old she is doing very well. She knows the alphabet, colors, shapes, can count by herself, she can dress herself, and even does Karate! Right now, our biggest challenge is speech. That problem comes from both her heart problems and Di George Syndrome. Speech is a common problem for children with this syndrome. Torie loves preschool. They have done a wonderful job helping Torie learn and grow.

Now, it's time to start planning a 4th birthday party!!

We don't just celebrate her birth, it is so much more for us;

it's surviving through all this, and knowing we did it;

knowing SHE did it.

She is our daughter,

our fighter.

She is victorious-she is Victoria.

making snow angels...

my daredevil child...loves sleding, but loves to fall off the sled more!miss attitude at Christmas.

Somewhere…someplace… today…
A family is waiting to hear… I
s something wrong with their baby?
The answers aren’t quite clear…
This family has entered an unwanted world…
And they just don’t know what to expect…
Somewhere…someplace… today
They first heard the words: heart defect.
And how they hoped this was not true…
And thought… this cannot be…
I too… know just how this feels…
For one day…this was me.
Somewhere…someplace…today…
A man and a woman embrace…
Their baby is in surgery…
They long to see her face… They haven’t got to hold her yet…
Without…a cord or line…
They pace the room awaiting news…
And hope she’ll be just fine. Prayers fill this busy waiting room…
And mom and dad are scared…
Somewhere…someplace..today…
The tiniest hearts are repaired.
Somewhere…someplace…today…
A child’s growing fast…
Smiling,laughing,thriving… His mom thinks…can this last?
It’s almost easy…to forget…
That anything is wrong…
Somewhere…someplace..today…
Her child seems so strong.
Somewhere…someplace… today…
A little boy fights…just to live A father holds his tiny hand…
His love…all he can give…
The doctor’s are all baffled…
They fear that he might die…
Somewhere…someplace…today…
A family says goodbye…
Somewhere…someplace…each year..
More than 40,000 families will see…
What it means…when something’s wrong…
They’ll face a CHD. Today…
for just a moment… Stop…remember…reflect…
Make time to tell someone you know… “I’ve been changed by a heart defect”.
Author – Stephanie Husted

CHIN

This site has a ton of information, stories and resources for families. Please visit it, and support them, as the run off donations. Thanks!!

Please welcome Jordan Francis!

On April 16, 2009 I delivered a 8 lb 16 oz 21 inches baby boy, Jordan Francis via c-section. My OB found meconium during the c-section, but luckily Jordan's APGAR was good. The night after his birth the nurses noticed that he was breathing rapidly and the doctor decided to place him in the NICU for observation. After a couple hours of being in the NICU the doctor decided to keep him there for further monitoring and tests. The did labs and a chest xray and it turned out that he might have had meconium aspiration pneumonia. While he was in the NICU, they heard he had a heart murmur, an echocardiogram was done and they saw a moderate sized VSD. The doctor said that he just needed a cardiologist follow up after he goes home from the NICU...little did we know that his VSD will affect us more than they initially thought. He stayed in the NICU for 3 1/2 weeks...battling the meconium aspiration pneumonia and at 2 weeks old his calcium dropped. It was actually the day before he was scheduled for discharge. Luckily, the great nurses at Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park, CA NICU knew something wasn't right with Jordan and asked the doctor to do some labs. It turned out his calcium dropped to a really low level. At this point, the doctors felt there was something more going on than just his pneumonia and did a genetic test for DiGeorge Syndrome because of his CHD and he also had some renal issues (hydronephrosis with urine reflux) plus the hypocalcemia. We also had some feeding issues because Jordan wouldn't eat well. The nurses and I noticed that he fed very different. It was like he was gasping and gulping his milk and now I understand that it's all due to his CHD. Once they stabilized his calcium levels, we were discharged with several follow-ups. We got the results of the genetic testing about a week after he was discharged and it showed up with a deletion of the chromosome 22, which is indicative of DiGeorge Syndrome. I prepared myself for the news and took it full stride hoping that Jordan would only have the mild form of it. On November 24, 2009 after several echocardiograms and consults with our cardiologist, Dr. Brian Fagan, he decided that Jordan was not growing and he was falling below the growth curve. Dr. Fagan then decided it was best that we consult with the cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Cynthia Herrington at Children's Hospital Los Angeles for a VSD repair. We met with Dr. Herrington and she discussed the procedure and what to expect. The OHS was scheduled for January 6, 2010. I dreaded the new year because I knew it would mean that Jordan's OHS was just around the corner. I feared the worst. With many prayers, Jordan recovered very rapidly from his OHS with no complications. According to Dr. Herrington, the surgery went "beautifully." I was so glad. We just met with Dr. Fagan and we are gradually taking him off his Lasix and stopping the Enalapril. Jordan's CHD was corrected and he's doing well. He does have some catching up to do so far as his growth, but that will be done in no time. He eats much better and is so much alert. He has so much more energy compared to before. I do notice some developmental delay e.g. he doesn't sit up or hold his head yet , but I know he will reach those milestones a little later due to his DiGeorge Syndrome. Jordan is the angel in my life and I am so blessed to have him.

Thanks, Sonna, for emailing me this well written story and thanks for sharing with us!!
I feel blessed that other people that I have only "met" online are so willing to share with us, through my blog. God does wonderful things, doesn't he?

Talia's Story

What a cute princess!! This is the second story for your to read. I have only copied recent things, including her surgery. Please visit her blog to read how this beautiful little girl has grown!

Miss Talia is a cute & sassy CHD warriorette that came in to the world on May 5th, 2009 pink and screaming! She was diagnosed with pulmonary atresia, hypoplastic tricuspid valve and hypoplastic right ventricle while she was in-utero at 20 weeks. At 29 weeks in-utero, we went to Boston to Brigham & Womens Hospital and Boston Children's Hospital and had fetal intervention done to correct the pulmonary valve. She was the 11th baby to have this experimental surgery performed on. They took a needle and went in thru my stomach and in to Talia's tiny chest and opened up her pulmonary valve. The surgery was a success- however- a month later we found out that the bloodflow going thru her pulmonary valve had narrowed- and her diagnosis became pulmonary stenosis. Miss Talia is a brave and strong little girl. She's had 3 heart catheters, a BT shunt operation at 2 weeks old and the Bi-directional Glenn at 4 months. Watch for updates on Talia's life journey!

Updateposted on 01/21/2010
Miss Talia had her appt. with the heart surgeon today and it went well. They did an x-ray it was clear. They checked her oxygen saturations and they are at 99-100 where it should be! Yay! They weighed her and she is now at 16 lbs. 1 oz. so she's finally gained her weight back! She is able to do tummy time now and will start doing physical therapy again next week. Miss Talia has started to hold her own bottle and she is able to touch her feet and pull her socks off. We still have to work on sitting up by herself- but I think she will be doing that in no time! She now likes her exercauser and even though her feet dangle because she's too short- she doesn't seem to mind it!
Talia Updateposted on 01/16/2010
Talia had a pretty good week being back home. She went back to daycare this week and she got to see her friends William, Dillon and Anne that she missed! They missed her as well from what I heard! Dillon asked everyday if he was going to get to see Baby Talia or not. Wednesday morning, Talia had an appointment with her pediatrician for a post-surgery check up. He told us that we need to put an extra scoop of formula in her milk so she can get more calories. Talia also got an x-ray done and she had a bit of fluid in her lungs- but he increased her lasiks to 3 times a day for 2 days and that took care of it. Talia has been in a great mood- she's very happy. She gave us a bit of a scare this week- after Wednesday- she kinda stopped eating as much and we couldn't figure out the problem. I called the cardiologist yesterday and he said it was most likely not heart related since she is in a good mood and shows no other signs or symptoms. Then I called the pediatrician and his recommendation was to take her to the emergency room to check her out. We did not take her to the emergency room- instead- I made a normal bottle for her- without the extra scoop of formula and she drank it like nothing- so the problem was the extra scoop of formula in her milk. It must have been too thick for her or just didn't taste very good. I don't think the ER would have ever figured that out.Talia got to spend Friday nite with her cousin Brian! She had alot of fun watching soccer with him! Next week, talia has a check up with the heart surgeon so I'll have another updated then. Thanks again everybody for all the thoughts and prayers!
Talia Gets to Come Home!posted on 01/09/2010
Miss Talia gets to come home today! Yay! She had an echo yesterday and it looked good. She was feeling alot better yesterday and has started to eat better- she still needs to eat more but she's eating a good amount so she can come home. Grandma & Grandpa Krumbach are up visiting today and its Grandpa's birthday- so this will make his birthday extra special! Talia will be going home on her lasiks to keep the fluid off her heart and also the amioderone which will help with her irregular heart beat. Otherwise- we just have the usual precautions like every other time she's had surgery. She will be able to do tummy time in about 2 weeks.Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers! They've helped us out so much! We love you all!

Talia Updateposted on 01/07/2010
Miss Talia has been in a recovery room for the last 2 days. She is doing ok- she has most of her ivs and lines out. Her irregular heart rate comes and goes and they give her amioderone twice a day orally for that. She is also taking lasiks twice daily as well. She got the ng tube taken out of her nose so she has been eating regularly since she's been up there. She didn't eat very good last nite, so I'm not sure what has caused that, but hopefully she'll start eating more so she can get that double chin back! :) Otherwise- that is all we know for now- we are unsure of when she will get out. Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers! Also- if you haven't gotten your Miss Talia pendant or keychain yet- here is a link where you can get them online with a paypal account- http://misstalianecklace.tumblr.com/ Otherwise- if you don't have paypal and you want one- just let me know and I can get you one. You can email me at jillkrumbach@yahoo.com Thanks!
Miss Talia Updateposted on 01/05/2010
Miss Talia had a pretty uneventful weekend and she stayed pretty stable. They did an echo on Saturday morning and it didn't change at all. The Lunds had Christmas on Sat. at our house so Miss Talia had quite a few visitors and she got alot of fun gifts she can't wait to play with when she gets home! They did an echo yesterday morning and we had some confusion about it hearing different things from different people- but we got the right information last nite from the heart surgeon and the echo looked good. The bovine valve- tricuspid valve is working! The right side is working! The right atrium is a bit streched and has a bit of high pressure but it is fine where it is at because before she had this operation- the pressure on the right side was twice, if not three times as high. So, as of right now, Miss Talia shouldn't have to have any surgeries for awhile. Her irregular heart rate has returned so they have put her back on the amioderone medicine and that is helping. They said- those could go away at anytime and should they stay- they shouldn't last more then 6 to 12 months and she would take medicine at home for that. It has taken her longer to recover since her body has to get use to the right side of her heart doing more work. And, when she had the partial glenn- the blood flowed more towards her head and now the blood flow is the opposite direction, so her body also had to get use to that. Last nite, Miss Talia was smiling and eating better. I just talked to the nurse to see how she was thru the night and she did good and they are going to take out a couple of her IVs today and possibly send her up to a recovery room. Yay!
Talia's Heart Updateposted on 01/01/2010
An echo was done this morning and the tricuspid valve actually looked much better then it did yesterday. So, they are just going to wait a few days and see how the valve does. If it stays the same- she should be good for awhile. The valve is leaking a bit- but it is working just enough for the right side to do what it is suppose to. The valve will eventually need to be replaced- they are just not sure when. They got a mechanical valve flown in from St. Jude to use as a backup if needed. But, the goal for now is to just get her better and to get her home. As for the valve- we just pray that it works as long as possible! Talia is doing good though- she's been eating and sleeping.
Talia's Heart Updateposted on 12/31/2009
Talia is doing good and we thought she was going to be able to be in a recovery room tomorrow, but it doesn't look that way. The heart surgeon talked to Brent and he said that the bovine valve he put in to replace her tricuspid valve isn't going to work and it will need to be replaced in the next couple of days. We meet with him tomorrow morning to hear his options for the valve. So, Miss Talia is going to have to be opened up once again. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers! I will let you know more after we know more tomorrow. Otherwise- Miss Talia is in a good mood today and is eating formula.

Talia Updateposted on 12/30/2009
Talia is doing good today. She got the breathing mask taken off this morning. She has woke up a couple times and wasn't the happiest- but thats to be expected. The nurse said she should possibly get her ivs removed tomorrow and she will either be moved up to a recovery room tomorrow nite or Friday. Otherwise- we're just hanging out for now- nothing else is new for now.

Talia Updateposted on 12/29/2009
Miss Talia is doing good today. She still has a mask on to help with her breathing since she still needs to get some fluid off of her. She will be put on a lasiks drip so she can pee some of the fluid off- so hopefully we can get rid of the mask tomorrow.She also had an echo done today and her heart looks good.Also- we got the results from Talia's EEG test from a week ago Monday and everything was normal- so no seizures. Yay! Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers!
Talia Updateposted on 12/28/2009
Miss Talia got off the vent this morning and is awake. She is on some oxygen and has alot of snot from her cold that they are trying to get rid of. Her lactates and blood gases are ok- the aren't great, but they aren't horrible. So right now- we are just sitting tight. She is doing well otherwise. I'll let you know how she's doing later. Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers- they are working, but keep them coming!

Talia Updateposted on 12/27/2009
Miss Talia gave us a little scare about 8:00 p.m.- her lactates started to go up and they couldn't figure out what was wrong since she looked great. They did a chest x-ray and an echo and they found there was some blood around her heart- starting to clot up a little bit. So, they opened her back up and got the blood clots out and she is doing good again.

Operation was a success! posted on 12/27/2009
Miss Talia just got out of surgery and it went well! It was a long wait- but well worth it! They were able to replace the tricuspid valve with a bovine valve. They also replaced the pulmonary valve which is also a bovine valve from last time since it had a bit of leakage. When he took her off of bypass he noticed that the pressure in the upper part of her body was too high. So to counteract that he undid the partial glenn that he did last time and it worked!! The right side is now working and she will be able to have a full heart now. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers!
Talia's Surgery is TODAY!posted on 12/27/2009
Yesterday- Miss Talia got the medicine she needed to get her heart beat regular again. Last nite the heart surgeon decided that he didn't want to wait til Monday to do surgery so she is in surgery right as I type now. We decided to do the tricuspid valve replacement and give the right side of her heart one more shot. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers! I'll update you later once she's out of surgery.
Talia's 1st Christmas- Not So Fun! :(posted on 12/26/2009
Miss Talia didn't have a very good first Christmas. We left Omaha Wed. nite to get back to Shelby to Grandma & Grandpa Krumbach's house to beat the snowstorm. Christmas eve- Miss Talia was kind of fussy and was uncomfortable from her enlarged liver- so she didn't want to sit up much. She got lots of great presents- some toys, books, clothes, booties, jewelry and jewelry box. Christmas morning she wasn't any better and she was breathing hard, her stomach was as hard as a rock, she didn't want to really eat, and she had a bad cough and stuffy nose. We left around noon to get back to Omaha to take her to the hospital. Miss Talia got admitted and she is doing better. They did an xray last nite and she had some fluid built up around her right lung. They gave her some lasiks and that helped alot. Her xray this morning was alot clearer. They also did an echo last nite and her right atrium looked bigger then it did the previous week. They noticed today she had an irregular heart rate so they did an EKG to confirm it. They found she has an irregular heart rate called atrial tachycardia. The cardiologist said it can be corrected with medicine called amiodarone. So, we got moved from our room on the 5th floor down to the PICU so she can be monitored while she is on this medicine. She's doing fine and does not need intensive care but they just want to make sure she doesn't have any reactions to the medication. That is our plan for today and we are still waiting to see if we will have surgery next week or not since Miss Talia has a bad cough and runny nose- it might get postponed. We'll keep you updated on how she is. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers! Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

Thanks again mom and for letting me share your daughter's story!

Andre

This little boy is a fighter! Just look at his picture! I want to thank his family for letting me share his story with everyone.

Andre's Medical Journey To Date
Diagnosis: At 6 months of gestation, he was diagnosed with Ebstein's Anomaly; by the time he was born, he was diagnosed with Critical Pulmonary Stenosis, Dysplastic Tricuspid Valve , Enlarged Right Atrium.:: May 1st 2008 - Minutes after he was born, he spent 5 days in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU);:: June 18th 2008 - He underwent a heart procedure called Valvuloplasty/Valvoplasty. Spent 4 nights in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU);:: August 4th 2008 - He underwent open-heart surgery called Glenn Shunt. Spent 2 nights in PACU (Post-Anesthesia Care Unit), then 3 nights in recovery unit.
You can read more about Andre's heart story and detailed medical journey on the right hand side of this page, starting from the bottom.

Andre's Current Medical Lifelines
:: Garden City Pediatrics Assoc
:: Floalting Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center
:: Boston Children's Hospital

Next Medical Appointments
:: Cardiologist» February ?? 2010 (took place on December 2nd 2009 as a precautionary measure prior to trip to Australia. Next appointment date: June 2010):: Pediatrician» January 8th 2010 (postponed until we return from Australia)

Andre's Tid Bits
Last update: 10/13/09:: What is Andre's birth date?» May 1st.:: How much does Andre weigh and how tall is he?» 25.2 pounds (as at 04/16/09) and 28 inches» 24.44 pounds (as of 06/05/09) and 30 inches.» 25.12 pounds (as of 07/07/ 09). » 28 pounds and 31 inches (as at 09/18/09)Updates:» The pediatrician wants to see Andre again in July for weight check because he seemed to have lost some weight. This weight loss is to be expected but because of his heart issues, he wants to ensure we are not overlooking anything.» At the appointment on 07/07/09, pediatrician was very happy that Andre gained his weight back, i.e. 25.12 pounds.:: How many teeth does he have now?» In November 2008, 2 came out on the bottom.» In January 2009, another 2 came out on top and 2 on the bottom, all at once!Updates:» In April 2009, another 2 came out on top.» In June 2009, Andre had his first molar on the bottom right. That was painful!!» In July 2009, two new molars came out, the two top right. We were not having a fun time with those!» In October 2009, too many! All his front and bottom teeth came out, a few more molars to go!!TOTAL: too many!:: What does Andre eat and drink?» Wholemilk - 8 ounces - 3 times a day» Vegetables with or without chicken or with brown rice - 3 tablespoons once a day» Fruits - 3 tablespoons once a day» Yogurt - 4 ounces a day» Snacks - American Cheese, Cookie, Rice Puffs» Apple Juice - 4 ounces a dayUpdates as of 10/13/09»WholeMilk - 1 to 2 cups a day diluted with water 50/50;» Vegetables with or without chicken/meat or with brown rice - 4 tablespoons once a day;» Fruits - 3 tablespoons once a day;» Yogurt - 4 ounces a day;» Snacks - American Cheese, Cookie, Rice Puffs, Gerber Snacks;» Apple/Orange Juice Diluted with Juice served throughout the day.» GRAPES - LOVES HIS GRAPES!:: What fruits and vegetables does Andre eat?» It's a mixture of 2-3 different fruits and vegetables alike. They are all home-made based on Gerber suggested menu and pediatrician recommendation.» Fruits are: bananas, apples,pears, strawberries, blueberries, black berries, pineapple» Vegetables are: squash, sweet potatoes, spinach, green beans, corn, carrot, peasUpdates as of 05/01/09He eats small pieces of white bread with cheese, pizza crust, whole banana, meat, any table foods really -- not a fussy little guy so far!:: Does he eat any meats? » He only eats chicken for now.Updates as of 05/01/09» He eats meat as well.:: What are Andre's sleeping habits?» He has one morning nap around 9:30am and afternoon nap around 2:30pm. He is ready for bed at night around 7:30pm and wakes up around 6:30am. He has been sleeping through the night (since the age of 6 months) but the duration of his naps vary between 45 minutes to 1h30 minutes.Updates» As of 05/01/09 He has one morning nap around 9:00am and afternoon nap around 3:00pm. He is ready for bed at night around 8:00pm and wakes up around 7:30am.» As of 06/05/09 Andre is skipping his morning nap, has much between 12pm - 1pm, naps around 3:00pm for 1.5 - 2 hours, then he is ready for bed at between 8:30pm - 9:00pm and wakes up between 8:00am - 9:00am.:: What words can Andre say?» Dadadada (the very first one he ever said)» Babababa» TatatatataUpdates» As of 05/01/09 - Lalalalala» As of 06/03/09 - Mamama (FINALLY!!)» As of 10/13/09 - As per pediatrician's advice, early intervention is set for 10/14/09 because his vocabulary for a 17 months comprises of only consonant sounds, no specific words are articulated yet. He is able to recognize words and point to them but that's how far it goes. He also makes a lot of high and low pitching sounds as if he was having a conversation.:: How many words can Andre relate?» By asking to show the following words, he either reaches for the object or points his eyes towards the person or object.» These words are so far: mamma, dadda, balloons, pretty lights, cat, dog, bird, blanket, rattle, ball, toes, fingers, bib, winnie (the pooh), frog, phone, bananas, monkey, bunny.Updates:» 3/28/09 Andre shows his tongue when asked;» 3/20/09 Andre shows his nose when asked (only to his mommy so far); daddy did sneak in to watch once.» As of 4/2/09, Andre does it all the time with anyone.» 4/12/09 Andre opens and closes his eyes or fingers when asked.» As of 05/01/09, other new words he either reaches for the object or points his eyes towards the person or object - books, truck, bus, cars, juice (his sippy cup), shoes.» As of 05/13/09, other new words he either reaches for the object or points his eyes towards the person or object - truck.» As of 06/05/09, ther new words he either reaches for the object or points his eyes towards the person, object, body parts - Shannon and Ken (next door neighbors), Lynda (heart mom), ears, head, hair, leg.» As of 08/02/09 - other new words he either reaches for the object or points his eyes towards the person or object -heart, tummy, cheek, toes, teeth, mouth, plane, birds, trees, kiss (he gives you his cheek to kiss him).» As of 10/13/09 - we follow Your Baby Can Read program, don't watch the DVDs often but only the cards and books, and so far he knows all the words from Vol 1-4.:: Can Andre roll over/crawl/stand up/walk?Andre can:» roll over on either sides;» put himself on all fours but has not learn to crawl yet but we can tell it is very imminent;» pull himself up to stand up with a little of help. He stands well on this two feet, even does a little dance routine for us.» not walk yet.Updates:» 3/7/09 - Andre finally can pull himself to stand up!» 3/11/09 -It is confirmed - Andre can crawl now!» 5/01/09 - Andre crawls like a champ, stands up using one hand, stands on his own until he realizes it, then falls down again on his behind - his confidence is not quite there yet but he is progressing.» 06/05/09 - Andre is walking like a champ using his Fisher Price walker!» 07/26/09 - Andre is walking all on his own!:: What else can Andre do?He can:» do high five;» gives big hugs by eskimo kisses (nose-to-nose);» play peek-a-boo (his version is "where's Andre") and he puts his head into our hand to cover his eyes or he takes our hand with his hand;» he imitates some the sounds we make, like coughing, and making sound noises through his lips, leaning on one side to another when he is sitting in this booster chair;» do "bye bye" by opening and closing his hand;» laugh a lot when we make funny gestures with our heads;» laugh a lot when his diaper is changed and we use the word "poooooey", signifying to him that it stinks by also pinching our nose while we are at it - it's the funniest thing to watch;» play on his own for a significant amount of timeUpdates:» bring his toys to us when he wants us to play with him; goes to this bedroom to fetch more toys to bring in the living room or kitchen to play.» goes to do what we tell him to reach or do - like bringing the ball, truck which are in another room so that 'mommy' and 'daddy' can play with him.» finally learned to clap his hands, and raise his arms in the haor with the song "If you are happy and you know it, shout hooray"» knows who grandpa and grandma are via Skype. He even give them hugs (hugs the computer monitor), and brings them toys and books.:: What else Andre likes to do?» He loves his books, especially the story about 5 little ducks which has a button to make "quacking sound" which can be pressed when needed throughout the story. He also loves a book with all the animals A - Z and he loves to the turn the pages all by himself. His third favorite book is a touch-and-feel book about a duck, dog, pig, sheep, bunny rabbit, and a cat.» He loves to chill in this Fisher Price bouncer, watching the fishes, and play with the ornaments; when he gets bored, he knows how to bounce himself really hard by pushing on his legs.Updates:» 05/01/09 -Andre no longer uses his bouncer because he was getting too heavy for it. He now has new infant/toddler chair and he is yet to get used to it because he would rather be on the floor playing;» With the warmer weather, Andre loves his walk in the stroller,watching everything that is going on around him;» He also like to play outdoors with his toys.:: What are Andre's Favorite Toys?Andre's favorite toys are:» Fisher Price Jumperoo;» Fisher Price Sing-Along Musical Stage;» Learning Frog Musical Table;» Soccer ball, empty plastic bowl, crinkling-sound book, rattles, Baby Einstein Jaques The Peacock.Updates:» Andre received new toys for his 1st birthday and loves to play with all of them. They are: Fisher Price Interactive Baby Grand Piano, Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Learning Musical Puppy, Tonka Monster Truck (his favorite of them all!).:: Does Andre watch any TV?» The only thing Andre is allowed to watch his Your Baby Can Read DVDs once a day. On very rare occasions, he is allowed to watch Clifford, The Big Red Dog and Curious George.:: Finally, are there anything concerning about Andre's baby skills, after have been through so much in 2008?» Since his open-heart surgery in August 2008, he had to be picked a certain way for a while. Therefore he missed out on a lot of tummy time that were expected at that age. Once he was allowed to have tummy time, he completely hated it. We decided that we will not interfere, and let his little body recuperate by itself.» It was not until the age was 8 months old that he rolled over his tummy to sleep, all by himself. He now has no problems with being on his tummy time which he also does all by himself while playing with his toys.» We are little concerned about the progress he is making in terms of his ability to crawl/standing up/walking; as far as we see, he is really trying, he gets frustrated at times, and for us, that is progress and that is all we can ask for.Updates:» The pediatrician wants to evaluate Andre if he is not walking by the age of 15 months.» Andre is finally working on his own on July 26th! He went to pick up his Monster truck in the kitchen and walked all the way there from the living room. He made it by 5 days before the pediatrician wanted to intervene. Woo hoo!! Now mommy needs to wear her sneakers to keep up with his running feet!» Early intervention is set for 10/14/09 because the pediatrician suspects that he may be falling a little behind and he does not want Andre to be frustrated by it when he reaches 2 years old.

You can read more about Andre on his blog-the link is listed to the left. Please visit his blog and learn more about him!