Dorian Neal

If you are reading our story you or someone you know must have be or have been in a difficult situation. My husband and I were faced with a life changing decision on August 14th 2003. During a level 2 ultrasound, the doctor looked over at us and bluntly said, "See this right here . . . your baby's heart has not developed correctly. Many women terminate over this condition." . . . Which he later told us was Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. We were sent home with information about the condition and were told to make a decision before the following Thursday. That following Thursday would be the date to give the doctors enough time to schedule a termination legally if I chose to do so.

And in summary; today we have a beautiful baby boy. His name is Dorian Neal?meaning My Gifted Champion. He was born at the Hospital of the University of Philadelphia. I could ramble on about the details of our decision-making but it basically came to this - The children that we found that have had the 3 stage Norwood repair?were in such good spirits and health, how could we not give our baby the same chance? His first stage Norwood repair was performed on Dec 18th by Dr. Spray at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 3 days after his birth. Dorian is now almost four months old and weighs 11.8 lbs. Yes, we have our differences with heart healthy babies - like he still has a feeding tube in and only drinks 2 ounces by himself before quitting - but we love him all the same. He has an older brother who is 20 months old (yes - Irish cousins) and he LOVES his baby brother.

We look forward to having our second operation sometime in May. Its been a wonderful journey so far and I don't anticipate it changing. OPTIMISM goes a long way. Anyone can feel free to email me.