Drew Alexander

Hello my name is Shannon, mother to a wonderful little boy named Drew. I had a very easy pregnancy with Drew, and we were very excited to find out he would be a boy. We chose the name Drew for him as an honor to my late father.

At 7 months along, during a routine ultrasound, the tech noticed something she didn't like. We were sent to a perinatologist for some more ultrasounds and testing. Turns out Drew had a huge hole in his heart. They told us that this type of defect was common with Down Syndrome and asked if I wanted an amnio. At this time I was only 22 and my hubby was 25, so we thought there was no way it could be Downs. I went ahead with the test and for the next 2 weeks we agonized over the results. Our biggest fear was that Drew would be born and not survive. The doctors told us they really couldn't predict how sick he would be until he was born. When the results came in we were shocked. The doctors set us up with a pediatric cardiologist right away, and provided us with some basic information on Down Syndrome.

Drew's birth was amazing. I expected there to be a team of doctors and nurses there ready to sweep him away as soon as he was born. To my surprise, that was not the case. I was able to hold him immediately and they even let my try to nurse him for about 30 minutes. Not long after they took him to be checked out, and set him up in the PICU. Turns out we also had an RH incompatibility and Drew was VERY jaundiced. He spent 9 days under phototherapy lights. He nearly had a blood transfusion. Once the jaundice was under control and he was able to wake up and eat, things started looking up.

We were able to take Drew home 2 weeks after birth with no oxygen needed. He was being closely monitored, and ended up on digoxin and Lasix before too long. At 4 months old Drew underwent corrective surgery. The surgery went very well thanks to the wonderful Dr. Hall! He put 2 patches in Drew's heart- one Dacron, and one pericardial. The only complication was shock to his lungs from the pressure change. That resolved within a few days. Two weeks after surgery we were sent home again, still with no oxygen.

It has been 3 years since that surgery and Drew is thriving! He has a moderately leaky mitral valve, and they will be deciding soon whether or not to fix it. At this point his biggest problem is an underactive thyroid and a 3 year old attitude. :) He attends preschool 4 days a week, including physical and speech therapy.

Drew has been the biggest blessing to this family. He has taught all of us the value of life and love. We would not change him for anything in the world, and encourage new parents in this scary situation to have faith in God. He gives us these special babies to enrich our lives. We are blessed to have the chance to care for one of His special angels.