Our bouncy baby girl, Janelle Makenna, was born on March 31, 2008. She was full term, 8 pounds, 4 ounces, 19 3/4 inches long. Janelle scored a 9 on the APGAR. She would have gone home as a healthy baby girl had we not known the truth. She was diagnosed with a Double Inlet Left Ventricle (single ventricle or half of a heart) 4 months before she was born during a routine ultrasound. She was diagnosed with four other heart defects after birth. She also has Transposition of the Great Arteries, Aortic Stenosis, Small Aorta and Coarctation of the Aorta. Her first open heart surgery (Norwood) was at a week old. Her second open heart surgery (Glenn) was at 4 months, 4 days old. The third surgery (Fontan) was at 37 months old. Janelle is a patient of Le Bonheur Childrens and UAB. She is currently seeing a cardiologist every 6 months. Her current medications are a baby aspirin every other day along with a daily Enalapril. She loves school and has many friends. Her current activity is karate. She will start kindergarten this fall after enjoying summer school at her preschool. She plans to start taking ballet classes and return to gymnastics this summer.
This pic was taken seven days after the Fontan at age 3. She was in CICU for 5 days then moved to a private room. She went home after spending 4 days in the private room. That makes 10 days total in the hospital for the Fontan including the day before surgery. The want she had to walk to the play room at the hospital made it possible for her to return home earlier than expected.
No comments:
Post a Comment