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Betty Jo

TOF


Betty Jo
January 7th, 2010 will forever be ingrained in my brain as the day my world crashed! I went to my doctor's office with my mother to get an ultrasound done so I could find out the gender of my baby. We were so excited and talking about the names that I had picked out for the baby; Betty Jo for a girl and Benjamin for a boy.

At first everything seemed fine; the ultrasound tech did all the normal things but kept saying that she could not get a good picture of the heart. I tried not to worry especially since my two year old daughter was with us. The tech then said why don't you go to the bathroom and I will go talk to the doctor.

We ended up in the waiting room for two hours until he finally called us back. He sat my mom and I down and said "I am sorry to have to tell you this, but your daughter has a large hole in her heart." It felt like I couldn't breathe and I completely broke down. The next month was a total blur.

Within the next week I had a level two ultrasound and an amnio. We were trying to find out if Betty Jo had any syndromes or other issues with her heart. The cardiologist said that she may have an overriding aorta and that her pulmonary outflow tract was too small, that she had Tetralogy of Fallot. We were so happy when we found out that she did not have any syndromes.

As time went on things started to look a lot better. She had a VSD but it was on the smaller side, her pulmonary stenosis was small but not that small, and her aorta was just fine. However there was still the possibility that she would have to stay in the NICU once she was born.

Betty Jo was born on May 31st, 2010; I was both scared out of my mind and on cloud nine to finally have my baby girl. The NICU team looked her over in my room, she was doing very well but needed to go to the nursery for just a short time and she did not need to stay in the NICU. We even got to leave the hospital together.

It has been almost two months since she was born and she is doing incredibly well. I have to give her Propranolol three times a day and we are currently waiting for her to have surgery; which should be by the end of this year.

— Amber, Betty Jo's Mom, and sister Layla (Portland, OR)


This article was last updated on July 26, 2010

  • Born: May 31, 2010
  • Diagnosis: Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF)
  • Treatment: Propranolol three times a day


 

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Disclaimer: Our members' stories represent their own perception of their experiences, and the medical information contained within has not been reviewed for accuracy prior to publication. Stories are presented for informational purposes only, and should not be substituted for professional advice. Always consult your (child's) physicians with your questions and concerns.
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