Karissa

Our daughter Karissa was born in Southern California on January 27, 2004 weighing in at 8 lbs. 8 oz. On January 28, 2004 we were all set to go home. We were dressed and just waiting for my husband to come with the infant car seat and then we were "outta there". The pediatrician came in to look over Karissa and give her the final okay to go home. She took and awful long time to listen to Karissa's heart, and she even made me turn the TV off so she could hear better. She then looked at me and said the words that I will never forget. "I think I hear a heart murmur". She told me not to worry that it was probably just an "innocent" heart murmur. She also said that Karissa did not look like a "Heart Baby". Her color was good, she breastfed well, she looked very healthy.

The doctor immediately took Karissa away and left me in a state of shock. About 2 hours later we received the call that will have forever changed our lives. Our daughter was diagnosed with Tricuspid Atresia, ASD, VSD and TGA. I could not believe what I was hearing! How could this happen? There is no history of any heart conditions on either side of our families. I have 2 very healthy boys, I had no complications during my pregnancy. I don't drink, smoke do drugs, I took my prenatal vitamins. After the tears, we sat down with the cardiologist who came in and explained exactly what was wrong with her heart and what steps we were going to take to fix it. Karissa had her first open heart surgery the DKS with a 4mm B-T shunt at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles at 3 weeks old on February 17, 2004. After a few up and downs with her oxygen saturations, she pulled through and was discharged to go home with us on March 1, 2004.

Karissa is doing GREAT! She is gaining weight steadily and doing all the things babies do. It is so hard to believe that there is anything wrong with her. Karissa will be having her second surgery the bi-directional Glenn in about 4 to 5 months. We truly believe that God sent us an Angel. We know that there is a winding road up ahead but we are ready and willing to deal with the challenges as they come. But for now, we Thank God every day and cherish every moment we have with our baby girl Karissa.