Saturdays News

They had to put her breathing tube back in cause she was having a hard time keeping up. It was enlarging her heart a bit from it working overtime. I did get to hold her before they put it back in though. She pulled out her feeding tube last night and they had to reinsert it. And they said she is bound to pull out her breathing tube so they were going to put mittens on her hands. Once again thank you for all of the prayers.
*updated by Brandy*

Another picture of Drew

Friday Update

She is now on 8 cc's of breastmilk. And we were so excited, WE GOT TO HOLD HER!!!!!!!!! She inow only on one medication. And that is the medication to keep her PDA valve open till surgery. She was previously one 8 other medications so this is great news. She now weighs 8 pounds 1 ounce so she is gaining weight! Visiting hours are over for the next 2 1/2 hours so we are anxiously awaiting to go back at 8:30 tonight. *updated by Brandy*

Breathing tube is out

We are about to head out the door to NO.
But I wanted to give some good news.
HER BREATHING TUBE IS OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
She is now sucking on a pacifier, which is great! She is now getting 5 cc's of milk every 3 hours. Which is very little but it's start. 30 cc's is 1 ounce so you can imagine how little 5 cc's is. Everything is looking great! Thank you God for answering all of our prayers.

Thank You!

Dear Family and Friends,

Brandy and I want to thank you for all your prayers and support during this time of need.

As most of you know on Sunday August 15 at 11:30PM we brought Drew to the Emergency room at women’s and children’s hospital. After 1 ½ hours they were able to get a line in Drew and stabilizer her. After she was revived the ER determined she had a heart defect and needed immediate medical attention. They transported Drew to Tulane Medical Center at 11:00AM on Monday Morning.

Drew was diagnosed with a Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) and COARCTATION OF THE AORTA.

Drew is doing great and God has made her stronger each and everyday that goes by. All of her reports have been positive. She currently is getting weaned off the ventilator and slowly coming off all medication. We praise God for the miracle he is performing in her life and ours. The Doctor will schedule surgery at the end of next week to fix her aorta. They plan to do open heart surgery once she is about 7-8 months old to fix the hole in her heart. We are praying that God will heal her heart so she doesn't have to go to surgery at all. God is so good and has given Brandy and I a peace that is unexplainable. God gave Drew to us for a reason and we are going to fulfill that reason.


Thanks again for all you prayers, love and support…


Steve, Brandy, Rylie and Drew

Picture of Drew in the Hospital

Ventricular Septal Defect

Definition:
Ventricular septal defect describes one or more holes in the muscular wall that separates the right and left ventricles of the heart -- the most common congenital (present from birth) heart defect.

Alternative Names:
VSD; Interventricular septal defect

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:
Before a baby is born, the right and left ventricles of its heart are not separate. As the fetus grows, a muscular wall forms to separate these lower heart chambers. If the wall does not completely form, a hole remains. This is what is known as a ventricular septal defect, or a VSD.
It is estimated that up to 1% of babies are born with this condition. In the vast majority (80-90%) of babies born with this condition, the hole is small. They will have no symptoms, and the hole will close spontaneously as the muscular wall continues to grow after birth.
If the hole is large, then too much blood will be pumped to the lungs, leading to congestive heart failure. These babies are often have symptoms related to the problem and may need medicine or surgery to close the hole.

Coarctation of the Aorta

Definition:
A birth defect in which the major artery from the heart (the aorta) is narrowed somewhere along its length, most commonly just past the point where the aorta and the subclavian artery meet.

Alternative Names:
Aortic coarctation

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:
Coarctation means narrowing; aortic coarctaction is a birth defect (congenital disorder) in which a portion of the aorta is narrowed. The aorta is the source blood vessel for many arteries, which supply the body with blood and nutrients.
Aortic coarctation causes low blood pressure and low blood flow in the arteries that branch off below the narrow spot; high blood pressure occurs in the arteries that branch off closer to the heart. As a result, aortic coarctation often leads to high blood pressure in the upper body and arms (or one arm) and low blood pressure in the lower body and legs.Aortic coarctation is more common in some genetic conditions, such as Turner's syndrome, but it can also be associated with congenital abnormalities of the aortic valve, such as a bicuspid aortic valve.Aortic coarctation occurs in approximately 1 out of 10,000 people. It is usually diagnosed in children or adults under 40.

Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA)

Definition:
Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a condition where the ductus arteriosus, a blood vessel that allows blood to bypass the baby's lungs before birth, fails to close after birth. The word "patent" means open. Prior to birth, bloodflow in the fetus bypasses its lungs because the fetus gets oxygen through the placenta. After birth, the ductus arteriosus and foramen ovale close because blood must then go to the infant's lungs.

Alternative Names:
PDA

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:
PDA occurs in about 1 in 2,000 infants. Premature infants and those with respiratory distress syndrome are at higher risk. PDA is also associated with coarctation of the aorta, transposition of the great vessels, and ventricular septal defect.