As pretty much each and every one of you know, Valentine's Day and even February, is all about love, girly colors, chocolates, and of course, hearts. The coincidental thing is that for the "G" households, this day means a lot more. February 7 through the 14th is a big week for the Heart Group that we belong to (Intermountain Healing Hearts). It is National Congenital Heart Defect Awareness (CHD). This is MAJOR because CHDs occur in 1 out of 100 births! What is even scarier is that so many of these defects are not discovered until AFTER birth. For many heart defects, it is CRITICAL to know ahead of delivery (just to pause for a moment, how could a doctor miss seeing HALF-OF-A-HEART?!?!) so that these infants needing heart surgery can receive the necessary prostaglandins to keep the PDA opened. (Infants who have undiscovered heart defects can look PERFECT and than all of a sudden crash and code; Ryker's after-birth APGARs were 8 and 9, which is APGARs that are common in about 95% of births!) IN our little family, we are personally affected by three CHD's (Gracie and Ryker-who were both born with HLHS, and my darling hubby Mike,who was born with a Coarctation of the Aorta.) Our chances of having another baby with a CHD is 25-50%, and for Mike's twin, it is somewhere between 15-25%. There are SO many different CHDs, and the variety spans from life-threatening defects requiring immediate surgery to minor problems that may not even require surgery.
So to spend this national heart day, we went up to see our sweet niece Gracie. She was pretty snockered (a term meaning sleeping and out because of some GREAT drugs.) She looks so much better compared to the last time we saw her, but she is still intubated. Her lungs are looking so much better, but she was pretty agitated today. She was still so sweet, trying so hard to open her eyes and look over at Uncle Mike. She gave a little peak of a smile, and she is just such a sweetie. (I am also pretty sure she has grown a couple of inches in the last two 1/2 weeks!)
So here's to all those that have been affected by Congenital Heart Defects. Even though the awareness week is at an end, I wanted to share a few more heart stories (kind of a variety of those living with the defect, and those who are experiencing the effects of the loss of their child or family member)! I am sorry that this picture was so fuzzy, I was trying to avoid turning on the flash and this was the best I could get!!! The first is Gracie just a few days post surgeries, and of course the one today! Love you Gracie~get feeling better soon!
