Campbell in 2008

Campbell in 2005

Campbell, age 7

At 4-1/2

We first found out about Cam's defect at my 17-week ultrasound. The tech was doing her thing, and then got very quiet and said she had to go get someone. We knew something was wrong; it was terrifying. After several echos and an amnio (to rule out a genetic defect), the diagnosis of transposition was made.

We had an induced (and very long) labor, and Campbell finally entered the world on April 20, 1995. We did get to hold him a little bit, but then he was off to the NICU. They did a balloon septostomy on day 1 and the arterial switch on day 4. The night after surgery, he developed arrhythmias. It was very touch-and-go the first night. The arrhythmias persisted for quite a while, and he was paced off and on for a few weeks. Finally, they found a drug that controlled them. He also had blood clots in his PA (I think) and in the superior vena cava. FINALLY after 6 weeks he came home.

The first 18 months, Cam was in the hospital a lot with other things: Group B strep, croup (4 times), and another respiratory problem once. He had an angioplasty at 10 months, another cath at 2-1/2 years, and another ballooning at 8-1/2. He does have a bit of pulmonary stenosis, but so far, they haven't done anything besides the ballooning (perhaps they’ll put in stents when he’s done growing).

Campbell is now nearly 14. He's doing wonderfully. We see his cardiologist every year, and are cautiously optimistic that he won't need anything other than yearly echos for a few years. He has no restrictions, and we're trying to encourage him to be physically active. As he grows, we continue to see that he has some neurological "quirks.” Speech came very late with help from therapy, and he has some sensory integration issues and motor planning difficulties — all that is probably from his time on bypass. He uses a laptop in school these days for his written work, and there are bits and pieces of what seems like ADHD and/or Asperger's and/or Executive Function issues and/or “being a slowly-maturing teenage boy!”

Despite the issues, he’s a bright, funny, kid. His passions are linguistics and classics, and he loves bad movies and music. He made the outfit in his picture himself out of duct tape.

While I wouldn't wish a heart defect on any family, I am so thankful for what I have learned from Campbell about hope, courage, and joy.