Eve (7 weeks)

I had a great and uneventful pregnancy. Eve was born on December 2, 2003 and on December 4th we took her home. She has a full head of bright red hair (the first redhead in our family!) It was 11pm on December 5 when we noticed Eve turn grey. As first-time parents, we doubted ourselves that we had actually seen her change colors. We called the after-hours line of our pediatrician. They said it would be two hours before they could call us back. At that point we took her to the emergency room just to be safe. She had turned pink again and seemed to be breathing fine. When we arrived at the hospital thinking we were over-reacting, they could not even find her pulse. At that moment the nurse took her away and I did not hold her again until several weeks later. At 4am they told us she had HLHS and almost died.

Looking back, there had been several signs that she was not healthy. The second night in the hospital after giving birth we had our baby in the nursery for a few hours. When the nurse brought her in to us she introduced herself as a nurse filling in for the night and that she usually works with sick babies. She casually said that she thought our baby turned a little blue when she cried. She told the pediatrician about it and the doctor said not to worry about it. She also had a bluish nose, they told us it was a bruise. She was so so sleepy but everyone told us some babies are more sleepy then others. She hardly ate, just wanted to sleep the whole time.

We decided to fly her to CHOP in PA for her first surgery. While at CHOP they told us she has Turners Syndrome. We stayed there for 5 weeks and then she was brought back to a hospital in Charlotte NC. She has been in the hospital here for about two weeks. Her heart is doing well, it is the eating that is a problem. Besides her disinterest in eating, she has reflux, a paralyzed vocal cord that causes aspiration, and a general weak suck. Even with all this she seems happy and alert. We should have her home in about a week with a feeding tube. We know the key is for her to gain weight so she can have the second surgery sooner rather than later.

Eve is a beautiful little girl who charms all the nurses. We can't wait to have her home to cuddle and snuggle all day without all the monitors and wires.