In case you haven't heard, that's the date for Clayton's Fontan at Stanford. We're on the schedule. We'll get planning on all the logistics after Christmas. For now, we're just going to focus on the holidays.
I am back in San Jose, so I will visit. Please, please let me know if there is anything I can do, bring or anything to help make your time here easier. Please, I am really offering any help, ok.
When Ryan and I were first married we could have never imagined the roller coaster ride ahead. The birth of our first child, Colin, threw us into the world of Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, children's hospitals, and amazing kids, many of whom could teach most adults a thing or two about life. After losing Colin in 2005 we thought we were done with that world, but as chance would have it, in 2006 our second child, Clayton, was born with the same congenital heart defect. Through God's grace, Clayton has been able to overcome many of the obstacles Colin could not. We thank God for everyday we get to spend with him, and we pray for many more. In December of 2008 and July of 2010, we welcomed Eli and Aaron, our third and fourth boys. They thankfully appear to be healthy. We are blessed beyond measure and pray for continued good health for all our boys.
Hypoplastic left heart syndrome is an abnormality in which the left side of the heart (left ventricle, aortic valve and aorta) is severely underdeveloped. The condition is congenital (present at birth).
When the left-side heart structures are underdeveloped, the right side of the heart must pump blood to both the lungs and to the rest of the body. In the womb, a baby's body receives oxygen-rich blood through a communication (connection) called the patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). After birth, the PDA spontaneously begins to close. An undeveloped heart cannot pump efficiently enough to support life and that is when a baby with HLHS gets very sick. Without treatment, the defect is usually fatal within the first several days of life.
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If you need anything, my offer to help in any capacity still stands! We'll be praying for you and your little guy.
I am back in San Jose, so I will visit. Please, please let me know if there is anything I can do, bring or anything to help make your time here easier. Please, I am really offering any help, ok.
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