As for now, the dog and his bright green background were getting old. I don't know I needed to switch it up. Feed and enjoy the fish.
I have a metric buttload of photos and epic video of the kids. I have to find the card reader, the camera and computer, all at the same time, hopefully soon, and then you shall all have a foto factory festival!!!!!!
(Side note: Am I the only one who is more annoyed than assisted by every program auto-correcting my grammar and spelling? I am just saying, usually I am TRYING to misspell a word as in the above use of foto instead of the proper photo. I had to type it three times because auto correct kept telling me I meant foot, which I did not mean, and I knew I did not mean.)
Anyway... back to the more important topic at hand.
A few months ago, when I was making you all posting promises I had no intention of keeping, I said I was going to post more about Chris' specific CHD. In the course of a few months I stumbled upon some AWESOME 3D animations depicting HLHS and the 3 heart surgeries he will have had likely by the time he is 5.
I know I blogged about this a lot when he was still a baby, but there is something about animation that can illustrate what takes me minutes to say or you to read.
Bottom line is... He has half a heart, but he makes mine whole. He completes or family, and I can't imagine our life without him! He will never be 'fixed' or 'all better'. People will really ask me, "well he's okay now right?" or "he looks good to me." or "they fixed his heart right?"
Answer to all of the above is No. Chris has less than half the parts that you or I have in our hearts. No amount of surgery will ever 'fix' his heart. His heart has been completely re-plumbed to be able to supply his body with sufficient blood. Doing this however, is going to have some negative affects such as lower O2 saturations, or being more petite and slower growth. But the overall outcome is better than could be hoped for! I hope one day for the medical advancements to give him even better quality of life. Let's remember that less than 25 yrs ago the quality of life was non existent. There was no life. Babies with this defect did not survive infancy. How grateful I am to live in a time when we are so blessed with all the technology and medical advancements!!!!
Some of you may wonder about transplant. Well, I don't know much about it. I do know there are kids out their who have a MUCH greater need for a transplant. I am also told that while a donor heart would give Chris all the necessary moving parts, because of how our bodies work, a donor heart may or may not work as well as the heart he was born with. Then there is the possibility of rejection and a lifetime of anti-rejection medicine. With the exception of a few blood pressure medications, Chris heart function is better than anticipated. Therefore, we are blessed to be able to work with the heart he has. Keep in mind, in the case of HLHS, transplant is never off the table.
So, let's recap. He's not 'fixed' but he is epically AWESOME!!!! He is, at this current time, doing very well. He is a very happy and active kid. He does everything he should do, despite his start or his heart. He is a light in the world. He brought our family closer together and has personality that could put other kids to shame. Love love love my little man!!!! And I know you will all appreciate the super cool pix and vids that I am not promising to post. :]
I know over the last 2 yrs I've been asked numerous times about Chris' surgeries. I suck at explaining things I barely understand. So enjoy these AWESOME vids put together by the folks at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. They are by far the best videos or illustrations I've come across. I remember Dr. Chang trying to explain HLHS by drawing a quick sketch for me at 5 am after giving birth the previous 5 am and worrying about Chris for a full 24 hrs. While I applaud his knowledge and sketching abilities, paper is flat the heart is not. It's got so many angles and moving parts. It is truly amazing and I know it was created by a Master of design.
More to come (I think).
~Rach
