As of Oct. 3rd Allie is officially a walker! She has been walking everywhere in the house! Every once in awhile she'll start crawling to get somewhere faster. She is so proud of herself and she should be!
Posted by Trevor's Dad at 1:27 PM
• "I'm tired of being 3, I want to be 4 now" - the night before his 4th birthday.
• "What is your letter?" - when asking someone what letter their name starts with.
• "What's your number?" - when asking someone their age.
• "You puttin' your seatbelt on?" - while watching Daddy put a belt on his pants.
• "Yippee yi yay, mini sirloin burgers"
• "Be careful, Mommy, don't broke yourself" - when watching Mommy cross the street.
• "Daddy is home with the babes" - told to the checker at Safeway.
• "D V D...that spells movie"
• When, I'm a fish, can I swim in there?" - while looking at our fish tank.
• "Daddy, your coffee is peeing"
• "I love those babes" - referring to his sisters.
• "I wanna watch Hannah Montana" - when given the choice between watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or Little Einsteins.
I had open heart surgery on April 20, 2006 at Children's Hospital in Seattle to have a right ventricle outflow tract patch put in my heart. The doctor made a vertical incision on my right ventricle then spread the tissue apart slightly and applied the patch to keep this area of the heart larger. This will allow more blood to flow through my pulmonary valve. The surgery was a great success, but I will need lifelong appointments with a cardiologist to monitor my heart. Additional surgeries will also be needed in the future for valve replacement. No worries, I am up to the challenge.
I have a congenital heart defect called Pulmonary Atresia with Intact Ventricular Septum. The information below describes my heart condition. It was copied from a medical website so the language is dry. My Mommy and Daddy can give you more information about this. Also, you can check out this blog to see specifics about my case.
Pulmonary Atresia with Intact Ventricular Septum (PA / IVS)
Pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum (PA/IVS) is a rare congenital heart disease. Pulmonary atresia is when the valve that lets blood flow from the lower-right chamber (right ventricle) of the heart to the lungs has not formed properly or is closed. This abnormality is present from the very early stages of heart development (around the first eight weeks of pregnancy), resulting in an underdeveloped right ventricle, which is the pumping chamber of the heart.
Before birth, while the baby is developing, this condition does not threaten life because the placenta provides oxygen for the baby and the lungs are not yet functioning. Blood entering the right side of the fetal heart passes through an opening called the foramen ovale that allows oxygen-rich (red) blood to pass through to the left side of the heart and circulate throughout the body. After birth, the placenta no longer provides oxygen for the newborn — the lungs must provide it.
Two connections within a newborn's heart can provide temporary help in getting blood flow to the lungs — the foramen ovale and the patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). As these connections spontaneously begin to close after birth, the baby becomes critically ill due to an inadequate blood flow to the lungs where the blood picks up oxygen. This situation cannot support life, since oxygen-poor (blue) blood cannot meet the body's demands. The baby becomes very blue (cyanotic) and sick.
Receiving a diagnosis of PA/IVS can be frightening and overwhelming; however, there are surgical options for treating infants with this condition.
Diagnosis
Upon diagnosis, the baby is admitted to an intensive care unit. The baby may be treated with oxygen, a ventilator to assist breathing and intravenous medications to help the heart and lungs function more efficiently. In addition, the drug prostaglandin is administered to prevent the ductus arteriosus from closing, thereby maintaining blood flow to the lungs. This helps stabilize the baby while subsequent treatment decisions are made.
Treatment
Once stabilized, there are surgical treatment options:
Cardiac Catheterization
This procedure can be used as an initial treatment and a diagnostic tool for some cases of PA/IVS. A cardiac catheterization usually will be performed to evaluate any heart defects, establish whether the foramen ovale or ductus arteriosus are still open, and determine the amount and proportions of oxygen-rich (red) and oxygen-poor (blue) blood.
Balloon Atrial Septostomy
This procedure may be performed as part of the cardiac catheterization to improve the proportions of red blood and blue blood between the right and left atria (upper chambers of the heart). A special catheter (tube) with a balloon in the tip is used to create an opening in the atrial septum (the wall between the left and right atria). The catheter is guided through the foramen ovale and into the left atrium, and the balloon is inflated.
Radiofrequency Perforation
Radiofrequency Perforation of the pulmonary valve: In some cases it may be possible to burn a way through the blocked pulmonary artery. A fine tube is inserted into a vein and passed through the heart. A hot wire is used to burn into the pulmonary artery. A balloon is then inserted and used to stretch the pulmonary valve and artery. This does not leave any scar.
Open-heart Surgery
Ultimately, surgery will be necessary to improve blood flow to the lungs on a permanent basis. The types of operations for pulmonary atresia varies quite widely depending on the individual child’s cardiac anatomy and condition. A series of operations may be necessary to bypass the blocked pulmonary artery. These are open heart surgeries - the heart will need to be stopped and opened to repair it. This means that a machine will have to take over the job that the heart normally does – the heart bypass machine.
Following surgery, the baby's circulation may be normal. However, patients receiving a valve replacement may need another heart valve replacement surgery within the next 10 years as the new valve slowly wears out. The right-side pumping chamber (ventricle) is typically smaller than normal, so the baby may require another mechanism for blood flow to reach the lungs so enough oxygen can get to the body. In such a case, an artificial connection (shunt) between the aorta — the large artery that leaves the heart and provides oxygen-rich blood to the body — and the pulmonary artery is created to deliver blood to the lungs.
Additional Heart Surgery
Additional surgery is needed when the child is older, particularly in cases where the right ventricle was very underdeveloped. The kind of surgery recommended depends on the size of the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery. If they are normal size and the right ventricle is able to pump blood, open-heart surgery will make blood flow through the heart in a normal pattern. If the right ventricle is small and unable to pump, doctors may perform an operation called the Fontan procedure, in which the right atrium is connected directly to the pulmonary artery.
Follow Up
Children who have PA/IVS require intensive monitoring both before and after surgery, including blood tests, X-rays and urine tests. The child will also need lifelong monitoring by a congenital heart specialist.
Patients born with PA/IVS have a risk of developing endocarditis, an infection in the heart's walls or valves. Consequently, they require antibiotics before dental work and certain surgeries to prevent endocarditis.
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