Jacob (2010)

Jacob in 2009

Jacob in 2009

Jacob at two months

Jacob at 3 months

Jacob at 6 months with Great grandma Della

We were informed on the afternoon of February 27th 2008 that our baby may have a heart problem. We had gone in to find out the sex of our baby and we did. It was a boy! We were overjoyed! About 2 hours later my OBGYN, Dr. Southern, called and said that there may be a problem with his heart. I was floored because just two hours earlier we celebrated we were having a boy and had a small breakfast before going back to work. I didn't know how to call and tell my husband so I didn't until later that day. My friend at work comforted me and reassured me everything would be fine and that we didn't know anything for sure yet so I needed to stay positive.

Later that day Dr. Southern called again and had scheduled us an appointment with Dr. Chaffin; a perinatologist. He performed an amniocentesis and an echo to see exactly what the problem was. Once he finished his exam he said he didn't even see any chambers of our little boy's heart. He then referred us to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. We were scared to death because we didn't even know if our baby would even survive in the womb.

After leaving Dr. Chaffin's office we drove down to the dock beside the river and watched the ducks begging for food. This one duck had a lame leg and we both just stared at it wondering how it has survived with this injured leg. Then something else happened that sent chills up both our spines. We had been listening to the local radio station and the song "I Saw God Today" played. We just looked at each other not knowing what to think at this point. Should we take that as a good sign or a sign that this just wasn’t the time for us to have a family?

We had our first appointment at Cincinnati on March 10th and received some good news. Jacob (we had finally decided on a name) had tricuspid atresia. They explained to us that his case really wasn’t that bad and it should be relatively easy to correct. We left with a huge load off of our shoulders. We had two more trips to Cincinnati just to make sure things hadn’t gotten worse. Things actually became better. There were parts of his heart that had changed, and in a positive way. We would even get to deliver in Charleston and shouldn’t have to come up again until after he was born.

Well, the day came and apparently I didn’t even know I was in labor until late that night. Early July 6th at 1:55am our little man was delivered via c-section weighing in at 7lbs 2 oz and 19 and ½ inches long. His cry was a blessing from God! My husband brought him over so I could see him and touch his face. He looked right at me, I will never forget it. He spent two days and one night in the NICU for monitoring then he was brought to our room. He did great! We took him home on July 9th, 2008 and everyone was at our house when we arrived. It was such a happy day!

Thirteen days after we brought him home we were told by Jacob’s pediatrician that we needed to go to Cincinnati right away. He looked like he was skin and bones and we were having trouble keeping him awake to eat. So we rushed up to Cincinnati and admitted him. They gave him a feeding tube so he could get some food since he was so tired and wouldn’t eat his entire bottle in one feeding. His first surgery, which was to put a PA (pulmonary artery) band in place, was completed on July 30th 2008. He coded at 4:00am the morning following the surgery but the PICU staff was able to bring him back. He did great after that. After transferring to the step down unit our big challenge was to get him eating again and eating his whole bottle. We had to be at 8 pounds before we could go home and that was the only thing keeping us there.

Well finally on August 10th 2008 we made our break and came home to Charleston, WV. We have only had one setback since this surgery and that was over Labor Day weekend. His sodium was really low and his potassium was really high, and if you know a little about the heart, those are the two things that drive your heart. We admitted him on August 29th to Women’s and Children’s Hospital, which is where he was born. After a few days they leveled him out and we were back home on September 2nd. He has done nothing but eat and play since.

On March 13th he had his second surgery. It consisted of two procedures, the bi-directional/bi-lateral Glenn and an Atrial Septectomy. We waited five hours for the surgeon to let us know how he did. He came through it with flying colors and was only on the heart-lung machine for 6 minutes throughout the whole procedure. We were home four days later and he is doing great. He is almost back to his old self but is still smiling all the time. He does have the occasional Glenn headache but not too often.

Jacob is pushing 18 pounds and will be 9 months old on April 6th 2009. He will have one more surgery after this one, when he is around 2-3 years old.

March 2010 Update

Jacob had his check up with his cardiologist on March 26th 2010 and came through with flying colors.  Everything looked great!  He is now 25 pounds and 33 inches tall.  We will be waiting for the next surgery around the 2-3 year mark. 

It's hard waiting to see signs of him slowing down, but he definitely isn't showing any so far.  He will be two years old July 6th 2010 and he has had his fair share of bumps and bruises but he is all boy and is doing great!