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Monday June, 8, 2009

Addi is scheduled for open heart surgery on Wednesday, June 17, 2009. This will be the most complicated surgery she has had so far. Please pray fervently for our little sweetheart and the medical staff that will be taking care of her. Her surgeon is Dr. Karla Christian at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital.

Heart Cath Information

Addi did fine. They stretched her pulmonary artery with a balloon and then put in an expandable stent. It will be expanded via heart caths as she grows to keep the artery open. The narrowed area is due the the pulmonary artery band that she had for the first year of her life. The band was removed last year during her surgery, but the artery had maintained a narrow area where the band had been. Thank you all for your kind words and prayers.

We have a date for her BIG heart surgery: JUNE 17
Mark it on your calendars as a reminder to pray extra hard as the day gets closer. If all goes well, this might be the last open heart surgery she will have to have.

Addi's birthday party was a big success. I think everyone had a good time and we had a good turn out.



She is getting to be such a big girl. Here she is "checking her email" on her toy "puter".



And here she is sharing a moment with Grandpa "Bob-Bob".

We sure do love this little sweetheart of ours. :)

Heart Cath

Addi's turns two on March 2nd and her heart cath is scheduled for March 4th with preops on the 3rd....not a very fun week for a birthday girl.

Addi Update 01/08/09

Addi had some heart rate (dips down into the 50’s) and rhythm (sinus arrhythmia) issues after the surgery. It started about 8 hours after surgery and continued to get worse overnight. The cardiologist believed it was due to vagus nerve irritation from the surgery. Addi saw her regular cardiologist late yesterday and he said the current EKG looked okay. Her next big surgery is going to be some time in March or April. She will have to go in for a heart cath sometime between now and then. We’ll know more after her heart cath. The kids should be getting a call in the next week or two with dates for the cath and surgery.

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Surgery this Tuesday (12/30)

Our little girl had a great Christmas! Please remember her in your prayers as she goes through surgery this week and recovery in the next couple of weeks.

We have a surgery date...

The results of the sleep study showed Addi is experiencing some sleep apnea about every four minutes. She is going to have to have her tonsils and adenoids removed and ear tubes put in on December 30. She will have to be off of her baby aspirin (used to prevent blood clots since her last heart surgery) for a while pre and post op. They estimate she will be in the hospital for 4 or 5 days. Please keep her in your prayers.

Fall Fun

Addi Fall 2008 from T Pervine on Vimeo.

We don't have the results back from the sleep study yet, so we still don't know it they will just do ear tubes or if they will also do tonsils.

Addi is talking quite a bit now. Every day she is putting more and more words together. She spent part of the weekend with us and was such a joy to be around.

Last doctor visit on 9/18/08

Addi has been waiting for several months to see an ENT at Vanderbilt. She has had several ear infections since last February. She is going to have to have ear tubes and possibly a tonsillectomy. They want to do sleep studies first. Her tonsils are very large and the doctor thinks they may be causing some apnea.

I will try to get some new pictures uploaded soon. She is growing and changing almost daily.

Cardiologist Visit 06/11

Addi saw her cardiologist yesterday and with the help of her favorite Elmo DVD, she was very cooperative when they did her echo. They got such a good look at her heart, that she does not have to have a heart cath this summer! In fact, they have taken her off of her Lasix (diuretic that she has been on since she was a week old) and she doesn't have to go back for 6 months! They anticipate doing her next surgery next year instead of waiting until she is 3 or 4. She still has the narrowing from the last surgery, but there has been no change since her last echo so that condition appears to be stable. She weighed 16 lbs 10 ozs and was 29 inches tall and her oxygen saturation was 90%. She will put on several ounces of fluid in the next few days. The Lasix has kept the normal fluid off that everyone has. I suspect it will change the way she looks a little bit.

Oh, and I don't know if I mentioned it before, but she has been having chronic ear infection since March and is going to have to have at least one ear tube. Her cardiologist is going to get her in to see a Vanderbilt ENT. She will have to have it done at Vandy because of her heart.

My Dad (Addi's Great Papaw) passed away on June 4th. That is him holding her at Christmas in the little picture up on the right. I have not updated that picture because he enjoyed seeing it there so much. That was the last time he got to see her. Addi and her parents had planned to go see him this past spring, but they didn't get to go because of her surgery. He loved his great grandbabies.

Cardiologist Visit 04/29

Dr. Liske is pleased with Addison's progess, however, they did find a couple of areas of concern on her ECHO. She has a pulmonary artery valve leak and the Glenn area of the repair has some narrowing. These are both things that will require surgery to correct. The hope is that she will be able to wait for the repairs until the next big surgery in a couple of years. They will be monitoring it every couple of months with an ECHO to make sure it hasn't gotten worse. Chances are she will have to have a heart cath eventually so they can get a better look at how narrow the Glenn area is and how much leakage there is in the valve. With the heart cath, they can also measure the pressure of the blood flowing through these areas.

The news was a little disappointing, because she seems to be doing so well, but I am still grateful that we have doctors that are up front with us and giving her the best care possible. I am also grateful that these new developments are not causing her any symptoms at this point. They have decreased her Lasix back down to what she was taking before the surgery. This is good, because her soft spot has been very depressed. They also increased her heart medication.

She weighed 15lbs and 2 ozs, was 28 1/2 inches long and her O2 sat was 90%.

Update

Addison is still doing great. She sees her cardiologist for her first post op visit this afternoon, so we will get an official opinion of her progress today.

Update 4/17/08

Addi is going great! Her appetite is back, and you wouldn't know there was anything wrong if you didn't see us trying to be extra careful with her. We are trying to keep her from doing things that could hurt her, but she is at the "almost walking" stage, so falls are inevitable in spite of everyone's best effort. We think her incision has started to itch because she has started pulling at her shirt occasionally, but Mommy has been careful to keep a onsie on under her clothes so she can't really get to her chest. Thanks to everyone that has been praying for her. Please keep it up. Her recovery has been remarkable so far but there is still a lot of healing to do.

Discharged from the Hospital!

Saturday night Addison had several really good coughs that cleared some of the gunk from her airways. Her O2 sats came up enough to get her off of the oxygen and she kept down some rice cereal, baby pears and fruit juice. She had another chest xray and echo on Sunday afternoon. Everything looked good, so she was released at 4:30pm on Sunday. We spent the night in the hotel just to be on the safe side and also to pick up her heart medication at Vanderbilt this morning. We were all exhausted and slept in this morning, so we didn't get back home until late this afternoon. Addi is still not drinking any milk, but is doing well with fruit and fruit juice. She is playing some, but mostly wants to be carried around the house so she can look at everything. We are having to watch her very carefully because she is wanting to do things that will hinder the healing of her sternum.

Saturday Update

I am very tired, so please overlook any typos or nonsense. Addi was moved into a regular room last night at 9pm. Last night and today, she has had quite a bit of problems with gagging and vomiting. It think it is thick secretions in her throat causing the problem. She coughs, gags and well, you know the rest of the story. She doesn't have much of an appetite, so it is a pretty big deal for her to lose what she does manage to eat. She is still having O2 sat problems. They had to turn the O2 up again and her sats drop everytime they try to turn it back down. On a more positive note, they did take out the chest tubes this morning and she is going a pretty good job of taking her oral (yucky!) meds. She still needs prayers.

Things are looking good..

Addi has been in PCCU all day waiting for a regular room, and she finally got one. They are cleaning it right now. She is still on Tylenol 3 for the pain and a small amount of oxygen. She is wanting to play a little, but is still in enough pain, that we are only getting hints of smiles. If she is still doing as well tomorrow they will probably take her chest tubes out. I think that will make her a lot more comfortable. Things are looking very good. Her chest x-rays have been good and the doctors are very pleased with her progress.

We had an exciting morning. The hospital was under an Orange Alert (Tornado) this morning and the patients had to all be moved away from the windows and the the visitors had to move into internal hallways. Fortunately it all blew over with no damage to the immediate area, but did make for a little excitement. Keep praying for our sweet baby. She still has a lot of healing to do.

Update for the morning of 4/10/08

How blessed we are that God listens to our prayers. I am so touched by all of the petitions to God on Addi's behalf. Addi had a rough evening, but a pretty good night. She started breathing on her own in the early evening so they removed her breathing tube at 9pm. She is progressing well. Her O2 saturation is between 77 and 82% but she is still on oxygen and morphine so it is hard to say what it will be when she is all healed from this surgery. She had pedialyte during the night and also a little milk twice.

Today so far she has made an attempt to wave at her Mommy and is showing some weak signs of wanting to play. She looks much better and they are taking out her arterial line and her central line right now. She has already moved from the most critical care area to a lesser critical area. They said she will be moved to a regular floor room either tonight or in the morning if she continues to progress at the same rate. Keep the prayers going, things are looking good, but the road to recovery is still long.

Surgery is Over!

Addison came through the surgery and is in the recovery room. Mommy and Daddy should be able to go back to see her in about 30 more minutes. So far everything seems to be good. Please thank God for the progress so far and continue to pray for her recovery.

Surgery is Wednesday April 9th

Please pray for this sweet baby.

Surgery has been scheduled

Addison's surgery has been scheduled for April 9 at 8am at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. Her pre-op testing will be the day before. The surgery is expected to take about 10 hours. Her surgeon is Dr. Karla Christian. Please pray for Addi, and all of her care givers, but especially her surgeon. Addi's life will literally be in Dr. Christian's hands. I want to make sure God is guiding those hands.

Addi at 11 Months

Next cardiologist appointment is Wednesday. As she is growing and her personality is emerging, she is turning into quite the little sweetheart. As you can see in the video, she loves music. Please keep praying for this sweet baby.

Addi had a good Christmas with almost all of her family visiting. Her next appointment with her cardiologist is February 13th. She will be 11 1/2 months then. We never dreamed that she would be able to wait this long for her surgery. Now we are hoping to get past her first birthday and a trip to see her new baby cousin before she has to have the surgery.

Playing at Grandma's House

I didn't get this video saved in the right perspective, and it makes her head look tall and flat. :) Addi is doing great! Her O2 saturation is hovering around 89-93% with occasional dips down to 87 and peaks up to 93. She is getting monthly visits from the home health nurse to get her RSV shot which she is tolerating well so far. Her last official weight (which was a couple of weeks ago) was 13 pounds 2 ounces. She is 9 1/2 months and her personality is really coming out. Keep up the prayers!

Cardiologist Visit 11/14

Addi got another good report! Her O2 saturation was 96%, however, Dr. Liske didn't believe it so they checked it again. It is difficult to get an accurate measurement on Addi, because her little foot is getting too thick and her big toe isn't quite big enough. Also the pulse oximeter that is used on babies is very position dependent and takes several minutes to get an accurate reading. It usually starts out in the 60's or 70's and gradually works it's way up. When it stabilizes, it beeps. They got the 96% on her toe. Dr. Liske had them stop (before the beep) when she got up to 85% on her foot. He said he would take the 85% because he just couldn't believe her oxygen could be 96%. I suspect in reality it probably still averages around 93% with dips into the upper 80's and mid 90's. Her chest xray showed no changes from the last visit. Dr. Liske is very hopeful that she will be able to wait until the spring for her first big surgery. She doesn't have to go back to the cardiologist until sometime in late January or early February. Of course that is assuming she doesn't have any complications in the interim. Prayers are being answered. :)

Eight month pictures will be up later. I haven't had time to scan them in yet. Addi spent the night with us and will be here most of the day. I've had 3 hours of sleep. The baby monitor beeped and hissed all night until I finally turned it off. I could hear her just fine without it anyway and was up with her several times.

I love being a Grandma, but I sure hope we get to take a nap later today :)

November 2, 2007

Addi is 8 months old today!

Lastest Doctor Visit 10/26

Addi went to the pediatrician on 10/26. She weighed 12 lb 5 oz, and was 25 inches long. Her oxygen level is getting harder to read because her foot is getting thicker and her fingers are not big enough yet for the sensor. It is also getting harder for her to hold still. She wants to pull it off of her foot, pull on the cord, etc. They did get a reading of 93%, but it hovered around 87-89 % for a good while. It's hard to know what is accurate. Her reason for this visit was to get an RSV immunization. She took it well with no apparent side effects. Each injection costs $1500 and she has to have one a month for 5 months. Fortunately her insurance approved the shots. They are only given to high risk babies because of the cost. They do not provide long term immunity, but they do reduce her chance of contracting RSV by about 50%. The rest of the RSV injections will be given to her by a home health nurse so she doesn't have to be around all of the germs in the pediatrician's office. She will also be getting two half dose flu shots a month apart. Her next trip to Nashville to see the cardiologist is November 14th.

October Pediatrician Visit: 7 months Old

Addi went to the pediatrician to get weighed on 10/4. She weighed the same (11 lb, 10 oz) she weighed at the cardiologist 2 weeks before. We are hoping that the scales are just not calibrated the same. Her oxygen had dropped a little more (87-89%) so we are thinking chances are good that Vanderbilt will be scheduling her cath and surgery the next time they see her in mid November.

Addi spent that afternoon with me while her mommy helped her grandmother move. We had a great time. She took a 15 minute nap, and we played the rest of the time. She was in a great mood (in spite of her short nap) and we had the best day together that we have ever had. What a sweet baby.

Addi's pediatrician is trying to get Addi's insurance to approve monthly RSV vaccinations during the RSV season. RSV is a very common respiratory infection that presents as a cold in adults, but can be very serious for infants and in Addi's case could be deadly. She wants a home health nurse to come to the house so Addi doesn't have to come to the office and be exposed to all of the sick children during the winter.

Please continue to pray for her health. She is doing very well right now but I am concerned for her as we approach the flu and RSV season. As soon as she has her heart cath and surgery scheduled she is going to have to stay away from any gatherings of people. If she catches any virus everything will have to be postponed for weeks.

September Cardiologist Visit

Addi had another echo and nothing had changed from last month. Her O2 sat is 90% and she weighs 11 lbs. 10 ozs. They have decided to let her wait 2 months for her next appointment instead of a month. She is supposed to get her O2 sat checked at her pediatricians office in a month and the results sent to the cardiologist. All in all a good report. :)

Addi at 6 months

Addi is doing great. We took her to her pediatrician yesterday afternoon for her six month checkup and shots. She weighs 11 pounds, 5ozs. She is finally barely on the chart (5th percentile) for head circumference and height, but not on the chart for weight yet. Her O2 sat today was 90% so it is dropping very gradually. She sees her Vanderbilt cardiologist next week. She is doing a pretty good job of sitting alone now. She smiles and laughs a lot and plays with her toys. Except for her small size, you would never know there was anything wrong with her. She is the absolute light of my life!

No surgery tomorrow.......

Addison met with her cardiologist and surgeon today and the decision was made to postpone her surgery that was scheduled for tomorrow. The surgeon said her O2 saturation was so good (93%) that it didn't make sense to operate yet. They are planning to evaluate her on a monthly basis to determine when the time is right. I will send out an update when the surgery is rescheduled. Keep praying. I believe that prayers are being answered by allowing Addison to have more time to grow and gain strength before going through the surgery.

5 months old

Addi is 5 months old now. Her surgery is in 10 days. Please pray fervently for her and her medical team! We want her to go into the operating room with the best possible chance. Your prayers can help us with that goal. Thank you to everyone that is taking a few minutes each day to petition our Heavenly Father on Addison's behalf.

Heart Cath Results

Addi had a good night Tuesday night and didn't even act like she was hungry while waiting for the heart cath that didn't start until 8:30 am. The heart cath took about 2 hours. She was groggy from the anesthesia most of the day on Wednesday and slept well that night. By Thursday morning she was putting on a show for all of the doctors that came in to see her, smiling and wiggling while they tried to examine her. She was able to leave the hospital Thursday around noon. She seems to be doing well with the exception of having a bit of a problem with her left leg staying cooler that her right leg. They went into the artery on her left side, so the arterial blood flow is a little compromised on that side. It should be fine in a week or so.

The cardiology team met Thursday morning to decide on a course of action. She is still scheduled for surgery on August 14, but they have decided she needs a more extensive surgery than was originally planned. In addition to the Bi-directional Glenn procedure, she will have to have a pulmonary artery graft and a Damus-Kaye-Stansel procedure performed at the same time. This increases the time on cardiopulmonary bypass and increases the risk of the surgery. The Glenn procedure alone was expected to take about 6 hours. I have no idea how much time the other procedures will add, but it will probably add several hours.

Please continue to pray for our sweet baby.

4 Month Photos

Photography by Emily Miller (click on image to enlarge)

Addi had her 4month shots last Monday. She did get a little upset tummy and fever this time, but all in all, she did very well. She weighs 9lbs and 9ozs. Please remember her, her parents, and her medical team in your prayers for her upcoming heart cath (July 25) and surgery (August 14).

Surgery has been scheduled

Addi is scheduled for a heart cath on July 25 at 6am. There is a possibility that they will be using a balloon to open up her pulmonary artery during the cath. Her surgery is scheduled for August 14th. They expect her to be in the hospital for 10 days following the surgery.

Addi is 4 months old today. She weighs 9lbs 6oz and is 22.5 inches long. She is still very small for her age, but is consistently gaining 4 to 5 ounces a week and is growing about an inch in length a month. She is starting to play with toys and loves to "talk" and smile. Please continue to pray for our little sweetheart.

Addi's Visit with her Cardiologists

Addison saw her Pediatric Cardiologists on Wednesday (6/13). At almost 15 weeks, she weighed 8lbs and 14oz and was 21.5 inches long. They were pleased with her progress and are ready to start planning her first open heart surgery. She will have a heart cath 4 to 6 weeks from now and surgery sometime in August. No dates have been set for anything yet. The office will make all of the arrangements and contact her parents when the dates have been set. Please pray for our little doll, her parents, and everyone involved in her health care.

Addi is 3months old!

We had a minor scare with Addi’s weight gain. Three weeks after she weighed 8 lbs. 1oz, she weighed in at 7 lbs. and 14 oz. She appears to be filling out and growing so we were a bit confused. Her most recent weight this week at 3 months is 8 lbs. 6ozs. We believe there must have been some kind of problem with the doctor’s scales at her 2 month checkup.

Addi is changing every day. She is smiling more and much more alert. She has her next appointment with her pediatric cardiologist on June 13th. She will have another echocardiogram and what ever other testing they need to do to access her condition. Her oxygen saturation has remained steady at 95% when it has been checked at her pediatrician’s office. Her color is also very good. It is so easy to think there is nothing wrong with her because aside from being so small, she looks very healthy.

A couple of weeks ago Addi and her parents went to Florida to visit her Granny. We didn’t know if it was safe for Addi to fly, but her cardiologist said it was fine and she did great. She slept through both flights.



She also went to a family wedding in Nashville.



Please continue to pray for Addi and her parents. Please also pray for her doctors to make good decisions about her care. We appreciate so much all of the concern that has been shown to our family. I have people ask me daily how Addi is doing.

Trip to Indiana

Addi made a surprise visit to Indiana to see her Great Papaw. I think he was pretty happy to get to meet his first great grandchild. He knew we were coming, but didn't know Addi and her Mommy and Daddy were coming too. Aunt Tracy and Uncle Phillip were there for a weekend gospel meeting, so we had a very nice little family reunion at Great Uncle Dave's house.

Addison got her vaccinations a few hours before we all piled into the car for the 4 hour trip. It was a recipe for disaster, but she did great. She slept all the way there. Mommy gave her some Tylenol drops to ward off a fever and it worked. She was fussy on Friday and had a little bit of an upset tummy, but other than that she was fine. By Saturday, she was back to being pleasant again. Thanks to all of you that prayed for her to have an easy time with her shots.

As she gets older, she is staying awake more. She has also learned the fine art of fighting sleep. In other words she is acting like a normal baby, for which we are so very thankful.

Luke 11:8-10 So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Wow!

Addi went to the pediatrician for her 2 month shots today. We were hoping she would tip the scales at near 7 pounds. We were shocked to find out that she weighs 8 pounds and 1 ounce! We are all so excited that she is growing so fast. Keep up the prayers. They are being answered. Please also pray that she doesn't have any bad reactions to her shots. I think she was vaccinated for about 7 things.

A Night at Grandma & Grandpa's House

Addi spent the night with us last Wednesday for the first time. I had forgotten what it was like to see little wide open dark eyes in the middle of the night. Oh how I love that little girl. Thanks to everyone that is praying for Addi. Keep the prayers flowing! As you can see, the prayers are being answered, she is gaining weight and strength to prepare her for the next surgery.

Addi's Visit with the Cardiologists

Mommy and Daddy took Addi to Vanderbilt to see Dr. Liske and Dr. Campbell, two of her pediatric cardiologists yesterday. She doesn't have to go back to see them again until she is 3 1/2 months old as long as she is not having any problems. She will be 6 weeks old tomorrow and she is finally the size of a small newborn: 6 pounds and 5 ounces! They measured her length at approximately 19 inches. It is hard to measure a moving target and Daddy said she was crying and squirming during the process. We are so excited about her weight gain. She also had a chest x-ray. The doctors were so pleased with the results that they took her off her Digoxin and cut her Lasix in half.

Growing!

Addi appears to be growing and doing fine. We will have a better idea of how she really is doing after she sees her pediatric cardiologist tomorrow. What a sweet little doll.

Official Weight

I suppose you are not suposed to reveal a lady's weight and age, but I don't think she will mind. At 28 days, Addi weighs 5 pounds and 7 ounces. That is up 3 ounces from when she left Vanderbilt last Saturday and a total gain of 10 ounces since birth. Not bad for a young lady that has had heart surgery. She is also taking Lasix which is probably holding back an ounce or two of fluid that would normally be there. Her pediatrician was pleased with her progress. We got to spend last evening with Addi and her Mom and Dad. I think they are going to bring her by this evening for another visit. I thank God for this period of relative normalcy that she is having so we can all enjoy this sweet baby. Hopefully the next surgery can be held off for a few months. Normal is nice. Pray for Addi to eat well and grow so she will be strong. We have seen the results of all of your prayers.

Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Addi's First Trip to Grandma's House

Addi came for a surprise visit and spent the evening in my arms (except for sharing her a little bit with Grandpa). What a sweet little doll. Her incision is looking very good, and she is starting to fill out a tiny bit. Tomorrow we will get an official height and weight at the pediatrician's office so we can see if she is still growing as fast as the doctor expects.

Addi at Home

Addi was very wakeful on Saturday and the trip home from Nashville was an extra long one due a detour around an accident. As a result, she wanted to sleep most of yesterday and not eat much. Her appetite began to pick up again late yesterday although she is not completely back up to where she was when she left the hospital. With all the prayers on her behalf, I am sure she will be back up to the earlier volume soon. She is adjusting to her home environment and Dad reports she is smiling and vocalizing a lot.

I have had a cold and not been able to go see her since she got home, but I am getting better every day and should be well in two or three more days. I am anxious to get to rock that sweet baby again. I'm hoping to get a nice smiling picture this weekend to post.

Home at Last!

Addi was doing so well that Mom and Dad got to bring her home this afternoon. This is wonderful news. We have so much to be thankful for. She has to go back to Vanderbilt to see her cardiologist in a couple of weeks and a few days later back again to see her surgeon. She will also be checking in with her local pediatrician. Please continue to pray for Addi to heal and grow, and for Mom and Dad to have an easy transition to caring for her at home.

Good Report

Addi's chest tube was removed this morning. She was given some morphine to help with the pain of the removal, but it still made her cry a little. Dr. Christian (Addi's Surgeon) came in this morning with good news. Addi's recovery is going so well, that she may get to go home soon. Addi's Mom and Dad were able to get answers to some of their questions and I think are feeling a little more reassured. The surgeon said when her O2 Sats get down into the 70's it will be time for the next surgery. That will probably happen when she is somewhere between 3 and 6 months old, although some babies have been able to go longer (up to 18 months). Please pray for Addi to continue to recover and that her pain decreases.

Recovery has begun

Addi looks very small in her big crib in the PCCU. She was taken off the respirator very late last night. So far all is well. This morning the doctor removed her arterial line and central line. She was most unhappy with the removal of the tape. Removing the lines did not make her cry but she did get the hiccups. Sounds like she takes after her Aunt Tracy who gets "stress hiccups". The chest tube will remain until she has gone at least a day without any drainage. The drainage is minimal to nonexistent now, so she could have it out sometime tomorrow. Nurse Tashi said Addi is having a picture perfect recovery and has the right kind of determined personality to give her the best chance for getting through all of the surgeries. She is doing so well, that they are talking about sending her upstairs to a non-CCU room later today. God is taking good care of Addi and looking after us all. Keep the prayers flowing both for Addi's continuing recovery and giving thanks for the progress she has made so far.

First Surgery is Complete

Addi's surgery didn't start until 1:10 and was complete by about 2:30. The surgeon came and told us everything went as expected with no surprises. She is in recovery now and her Mom and Dad should be able to go back to see her soon. We have been told that they like to keep the cardiac patients sedated and on the respirator for up to 48 hours after surgery to allow them to rest so healing can begin. If all goes as planned, she will have about a week in the PICU and will then be moved to a step down room for another week. Give thanks to God for getting us through this first hurdle and continue to pray that Addi will come off the respirator with no problems and heal quickly.

First Surgery

Addi is 19 days old today and will be having her first heart surgery at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital at 10am. Please pray for Addi's surgeons to do the best possible job and for Addi's little body to have the strength to heal.

Baby Addi

Addison was born on March 2nd is currently in the NICU at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. Addi was born with two heart syndromes: complete Atrioventricular Septal Defect (AVSD) and Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). This means there is a hole in the center of her heart where the wall between the upper chambers joins the wall between the lower chambers. There are also holes in the formed part of the septum in both the upper and lower parts of her heart. The tricuspid and mitral valves that normally separate the hearts upper and lower chambers are not formed as individual valves; instead she has a single large valve. This large opening in the center of the heart lets blood flow in all directions inside her heart. The left side of her heart (particularly the left ventricle) is small, underdeveloped and not able to function effectively. She is currently taking medication and will have surgery soon to place a pulmonary artery band to help prevent congestive heart failure until she is big enough to start to repair the defects. She needs to grow before the subsequent 2-5 open heart surgeries that are scheduled to begin when she is about 3 months old. Addi, her parents and the rest of our family are very much in need of prayers.