Abigail Maja

15 years later

noreply@blogger.com (Abi's Mom) — Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:20:00 +0000

Life brings surprises and makes a big circle.

Since Abi's surgery 15 years ago, we have been visiting the local children's hospital each year during Christmas to donate gifts and words of encouragement.

We recently learned that her surgeon, Dr. Kirshbom works at the same hospital we visit each year.

Even though we didn't manage to see him in person, we ended up talking to a friendly staff members and making a great connection.

Merry Christmas! 🎁🎄

10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

noreply@blogger.com (Abi's Mom) — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 14:55:00 +0000

This month marks 10 years since Abi's first OHS. We are so thankful for medication-free life she's able to live.

Wishing Everyone a Happy Holiday Season!

Joanna.

Great Cardio Appointment

noreply@blogger.com (Abi's Mom and Dad) — Tue, 16 Aug 2016 18:24:00 +0000

We had a really good cardio appointment yesterday.

EKG, echo, sound, everything came back great! Tricuspid valve seems to be leaking a little bit less than last year, baffles look great, no blood flow obstruction, no leaks on valves.

She got Holter monitor for 24 hours as they try to do every 2 years. Just took it off this morning and will be shipping it back to the clinic this afternoon, but I would not expect anything wrong to show up.

To another great year :-)

noreply@blogger.com (Abi's Mom and Dad) — Thu, 28 Jul 2016 00:06:00 +0000

7 years old

No, it's not about the really good song by Lukas Graham, but it's about my little, not so little girl.

She *just* turned 7. Regarding her health, nothing has changed. She's still doing very well, nothing bothers her (except for her little sister and dad from time to time ;-) ), keeps up with all her friends and is absolutely amazing.

She finished 1st grade and is about to start 2nd. Was on a swim team this summer and did very well, especially for a new swimmer and first time on a team.

And here perfect dive ;-)

She learned to drive a boat

Shoot her first rifle

Had fun ice skating

It's been an incredible year so far, fully of great accomplishments for her and her sister. She's growing so fast, has a sweet and beautiful heart, is compassionate, caring and loving. It is very easy to forget her heart is still so complex.

Another cardio visit is approaching fast, in the next couple of weeks. This is the time when we remember and the anxiety goes up.

I'm looking forward to another great cardio report though.

Hugs to you all,

A&A

Another cardio visit another great report

noreply@blogger.com (Abi's Mom and Dad) — Mon, 10 Aug 2015 23:03:00 +0000

This morning we had another cardiologist checkup. Both of our girls did great at the doctors office. Abigail was not stressed she had a really good time and all the results of EKG and echo came out great.

We had a really good chat with Dr Ohmstede about Abigail's current state and her future. I am really hopeful and keep praying that things will continue as they are and if so, she may not need anything and have no issues for a very very long time if ever. We are really blessed by how she is doing, how her heart is growing and there are no negative changes regarding the last defect, namely Ebsteinoid tricuspid valve and mild regurgitation.

Here are some pics from today's visit

Last year review

noreply@blogger.com (Abi's Mom and Dad) — Sat, 08 Aug 2015 11:33:00 +0000

Last 12 months were really busy and a lot good has happened.

After celebrating Abi's 5th birthday with multiple parties both at home and at her grandparents' in Poland, Abi started Kindergarten.

I am amazed at how much she has learned within the first couple of months and continued to practice for the remaining on the school year.

She can count, read, write, does additions to 200. Just crazy! And all of this before she turned 6.

Her cardiologist appointment went very well and no changes have been recorded so she keeps on going strong with the meds and no limitations.

In the winter we signed her up for swimming lessons and she really enjoyed it making a great progress. In the summer she did a great self awareness and self defense training for children called radKids with Carolina Self Defense.

In the very early spring her grandparents came to visit and celebrate her 6th birthday with us early.

In couple of weeks Abi's going to 1st grade. Her pediatric well check went great a her cardio appointment is in 2 days.

Our Facebook CCTGA (LTGA) Group is growing, meaning there are more people and families getting so needed support and information.

If you're here, on this blog, because you just found out that your baby has LTGA (ccTGA) and you're searching for information, want to learn about this defect and need support please find us on Facebook.

5th Birthday - or Birthdays ?

noreply@blogger.com (Abi's Mom and Dad) — Sun, 17 Aug 2014 01:06:00 +0000

Five. There must be somthing magical about this number. I wish I remembered when I turned 5. Months before turning 5, Abi was psyched about her 5th birthday and being 5. No matter whether asked or not she kept telling everyone she was just about to be 5 years old.

So, since it seemed so important to her, we chose to jump on the same wagon with her and, yes, celebrate all month long. We took the girls to see the family in Europe and this was a great start to the month long celebration.

There were 2 birthday parties thrown for her in Poland and then another one when we got back home. The last weekend of July, or rather the last week and first weekend of August she got her last birthday present and it was spending all day at Carowinds with mom, dad and her friend. It was her first time at such a great amusement park and, to my surprise, she was unstoppable and fearless. She rode all the rides, all roller coasters she was allowed on (even those she barely made the hight requirements for). She had a blast and we all had a great time!

Here are some pictures starting with the pictures of the first birthday party.

First 5th Birthday party (no more picture at the moment of writing this post, still sitting on the camer).

It was a fun birthday party thrown by her grandparents at a children's place. Bouncy houses, outdoors playground, games etc.

And the most important, a Barbie princess cake :-)

A week later, the other grandparents threw the 2nd 5th birthday party. This one had family and cousins over and ended with sending 2 big lanterns up in to the skies :-)

One week after getting home, there was the 3rd 5th birthday party at Sugar Pop's, back home

And here are some picture from the trip to Carowinds. Oh what a blast she had. I'm truly amazed seeing how brave this little girl is

Art

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Little bit of winter, little bit of spring

noreply@blogger.com (Abi's Mom and Dad) — Wed, 12 Feb 2014 15:41:00 +0000

As much as we love the weather in NC, last spring, summer and fall have been really unusual and there we go, 4 seasons in 1 week.

Yes, 8F on Tuesday morning and snow for 1.5 days. Yes, 1.5 days. Then Friday, yay, spring came to town, 66F, long stroll to Bruster's and then to our great playground for an hour of crazy play.

The picture below is the following: Top- Tuesday. Bottom- Friday the same week

Art

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It's been too long

noreply@blogger.com (Abi's Mom and Dad) — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 22:10:00 +0000

Yes, it's been way too long since the last post and so much has happened. I will try to catch you up in just a few words, in a short post, with not too many pictures.

Our girls are growing big, smart and healthy, loving each other and being a true joy to be and have around.

In June, soon after our family leaving we went to the beach for our first family vacation. It was a great time and everybody had lots of fun.

After the beach the most exciting day of summer arrived, namely Abigail's 4th birthday!!! Yes our little girl is 4 !!!! I still can't believe it. She's thriving, she's doing amazingly well and does not stand out from kids her age.

Her birthday was a nice and hot day with lots of friends around and ever since Abi keeps proudly telling everybody she's 4 now :-)

And after Abi's birthday we had a chance to visit Atlanta, GA for fun. Yes, for fun, no hospital visits :-) We went to Children's Museum which Abi just LOVED and then to World of Coca Cola and her second best place - Georgia Aquarium. She talks about the aquarium a lot. Glad it made such a good impression on her

Oh and one more thing. Abi absolutely loves swimming and this year she ditched her swimmers and loves swimming with me. She is crazy for diving and going down to the bottom of the pool (5ft) to pick up our toypedo. Loves jumping in to both, pool and the lake. Here's are 2 short vids. One at our pool and one from her visit to the lake with mom. Since I was working and was not there she had to have her swimmer on. She's allowed to swim without the swimmers only when I'm around.

YouTube Video

I hope to do much better on updating the blog. With Kaya Annabelle's arrival we're still trying to figure out the new pace :-)

Art

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Drowning doesn't look like drowning

noreply@blogger.com (Abi's Mom and Dad) — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 16:45:00 +0000

One of my friends posted this interesting article on her Facebook page and with the summer, finally approaching I believe it is very important we think, read and learn more about how to keep our kids and friends safe, so here we go.
Enjoy reading and learning:

Drowning Doesn't Look Like Drowning

Art
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Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA)

noreply@blogger.com (Abi's Mom and Dad) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 17:39:00 +0000

PDA, Patent Ductus Arteriosus is not a typical congenital heart defect. It is a natural condition present in all newborns for the first couple hours or days after birth. It is a blood vessel between Pulmonary Artery and Aorta that allows blood to bypass the lungs and flow back to the body.

Since the lungs do not work in unborn yet babies and the oxygen is provided from mother's placenta, there's no need for the blood to go through the full pulmonary cycle, the blood flows from Pulmonary Artery to Aorta and to the body. This vessel usually closes on its own within the first couple hours or days of baby's life outside mother's womb.

As I have already said, it is a normal condition, but rarely it happens that this vessel doesn't close on its own and then the normal condition turns in to a heart defect that will require treatment.

How is PDA discovered?

When blood flows back from the Pulmonary Artery to the Aorta it causes heart murmur that can he heard by a pediatrician during initial exam. If the murmur is still present couple days after the baby was born, an echo (echocardiogram) may be required to confirm sill open PDA.

Premature born children can easily get really sick from PDA, which would be another indication that something is wrong.

In case PDA did not close on its own or is large and makes the baby sick, there are couple possible approaches.

Depending on the size and length of the PDA, small coils may be placed in the PDA using a cath in the Catharization lab through a large vessel. The coils will help the PDA to clot and close.

It this option is not viable, there's medication that could be used to help the PDA close. If the medication doesn't work or is not a viable option for the patient, a surgical intervention may be required to close the PDA.

Here's a picture of the PDA. This vessel is not present in healthy heart couple days after brith:

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Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA)

noreply@blogger.com (Abi's Mom and Dad) — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 04:26:00 +0000

Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA)

In Transpotition of the Great Arteries both, Aorta and Pulmonary Artery are transposed (inverted) and arise from the oposit ventricles. This is a cyanotic congenital heart defect (condition existing at birth) usually detected within the first hours or days from birth.

When TGA is present, there is a deficit of highly oxygenated blood in the body, since deoxygenated (poor in oxygen, blue) blood is being pumped from the Right Ventricle (RV) back to the body through Aorta, which raises from the RV instead of the Left Ventricle (LV).

On the other hand, the rich in oxygen blood (oxygenated, red) coming from the lungs to the LV is pumped back to the lungs through Pulmonary Artery which raises from the the LV instead of the RV.

The baby is not affected by the TGA before birth and may no be affected for some time after birth due to 2 natural conditions.

First is an opening between the atria, the two upper chambers of the heart. This hole is called PFO, Patent Foramen Ovale.

The second is a blood vessel between the Pulmonary Artery and the Aorta, called PDA, Patent Ductus Arteriosus. Both of them allow mixing of the oxygenated and deoxygenated blood while in utero and usually close on their own soon after birth.

One they close, the poor in oxygen blood will be flowing back to the body.
This can be postponed for some time by performing a Rashkind Balloon Septostomy. A catheter with a tiny balloon is inserted to baby's heart through the big vein in baby's groin, led through the PFO, inflated and pulled back through the PFO to enlarge it allowing more blood to mix. The baby will still be blue, but less blue than prior the procedure.

A surgical intervention will eventually be required. The most common procedure is Arterial Switch also called Jatene operation (after Brazilian surgeon Adib Jaten who as first successfully performed dr. Mustard's arterial switch procedure.

During the Arterial Switch the Aorta is cut above coronary arteries and Pulmonary Artery is cut at the same level. Then they are literally switched and sewn respectively the Aorta to the base of Pulmonary Artery and Pulmonary Artery to the base of Aorta allowing for the proper blood flow.

The whole between the atria created during the Rashkind Ballon Septostomy is also closed during this operation by a Gore-Tex patch sawed over it.

About 30%-40% of children with TGA also have VSD and Sub pulmonary Stenosis They both are corrected during the Arterial Switch.

In case severe Pulmonary Stenosis the Rastelli's procedure is performed. A conduit (tube) is placed between the Right Ventricle and Pulmonary Artery to bypass the narrowing, obstruction and at another tunnel is created between the Left Ventricle and Aorta to allow blood flow and close VSD.

All of the above are open heart surgeries during which heart is stopped.

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Christmas 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Abi's Mom) — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 03:03:00 +0000

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LTGA/ccTGA post published today.

noreply@blogger.com (Abi's Mom and Dad) — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 16:35:00 +0000

Ah I just completed the post on Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries that I started in November and it published with November's date, so much lower on the front page.
I thought I would just put a link to it here today ;-)

http://www.care4abi.com/2012/11/congenitally-corrected-transposition-of.html?m=0

Art
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3 years post Double Switch

noreply@blogger.com (Abi's Mom and Dad) — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 01:27:00 +0000

Yes, yesterday we went with Abi to see dr. Greene for her annual checkup and yes, this coming Sunday it will be 3 years since the first surgery.

The appointment went great. Abi was happy, active, friendly, open and very social ;).

Talked to everyone she could, was one big smile and, most importantly cooperated with every single test.

Her blood pressure and EKG were perfect.

Echo, was one of the fastest ever. She was so brave and calm and the results were great.

As for now, and we pray forever, we have nothing to worry about. Her heart looks great, all the work done in 2009 and 2010 holds up very well.

We had a good time talking with dr. Greene and then Abi got some prizes ;).

Here she is with dr. Greene picking up some stickers, bracelets and toys

Art

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And here we are

noreply@blogger.com (Abi's Mom and Dad) — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 19:41:00 +0000

Another annual cardio checkup. Right now. Right here at the clinick

Art

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Congenitally Corrected Transposition of Great Arteries

noreply@blogger.com (Abi's Mom and Dad) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 21:20:00 +0000

It's time for the big one. Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries (ccTGA, LTGA).

In normal, healthy heart there are 4 chambers. Two upper chambers called atria and two lower chambers called ventricles. There is a Right Atrium (RA) that empties to the Right Ventricle (RV), allowing oxygen depleted blood coming back from the body to be delivered to lungs through Pulmonary Artery (PA) arising from the Right Ventricle (RV). Then, through the Pulmonary Veins blood comes back to the Left Atrium (LA) that empties to the Left Ventricle (LV) through the Mitral Valve and then the oxygenated blood goes out to the body through Aorta (AO) arising from the Right Ventricle (RV).

In case of Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries (ccTGA or also called LTGA for Levo Transposition of the Great Arteries) there is an atrioventricular discordance and ventriculoarterial discordance (AV and VA discordance), meaning the Right Atrium (RA) empties to morphological Left Ventricle (LV) through Mitral Valve, from which arises Pulmonary Artery (PA) providing deoxygenated blood (blue) to the lungs. Then the oxygenated (red) blood comes back through Pulmonary Veins to the Left Atrium (LA) and through Tricuspid Valve empties to morphological Right Ventricle (RV) from which Aorta (AO) arises distributing blood to the body.

As you see, both ventricles are switched performing roles they have not been designed for, but due to both main arteries (Pulmonary Artery and Aorta) arising from incorrect ventricles, the correct blood flow through incorrect path is provided.

Here's a nice picture showing both, normal and ccTGA heart described above:

The data shows that about 20% of children born with LTGA is also born with heart on the right side of the body (not left). This is called dextrocardia.

Treatment:

If this is the only defect, surgery may not be required and children with LTGA may potentially live long, normal lives without the need for surgical correction.
They remain under regular care of their cardiologist though, who needs to monitor the heart's condition, since the Right Ventricle (RV), being designed to work under much lower pressure, is now pumping blood to the body, working under approximately 3 times higher pressure. This poses a risk of blood regurgitation through the Tricuspid Valve, weakening of the heart and Complete Heart Block (CHB), in which the contractions of upper and lower chambers are not in synchrony and there may be a need for a pacemaker.
The risk of CHB increases 1%-2% each year.

In case a corrective surgery is needed (due to other defects, or to simply correct the defect and increase chance for long healthy life) a Double Switch (DS) surgery may be performed.

There are different variations of Double Switch; Mustard or Senning.

In Abi's case it was Senning procedure.

You can check out the description of Abi's surgery, including DS and VSD closure here:
Part 1
Part 2

Art

Ebstein's Malformation of the Tricuspid Valve

noreply@blogger.com (Abi's Mom and Dad) — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 16:03:00 +0000

Today I would like to talk about Ebstein's Malformation of the Tricuspid Valve. One of the defects Abi was born with and which hasn't been corrected yet.

We pray she will never need this corrected and will live full and long life without this every affecting her again.

Ok, so what is Ebstein's Malformation of the Tricuspid Valve?

Tricuspid valve is the inlet valve of the right ventircle that is built of 3 cusps (leaflets), hence the name tricuspid.

This valve lets low-oxygenated blood from right atrium in to the right ventricle (right lower heart chamber). When this valve opens, the blood flows into the ventricle. Then the valve closes, creating a perfect seal and blood is pumped out from the ventricle to lungs through pulmonary valve and pulmonary artery.

When the tricuspid valve is malformed or displaced it means it's located lower than usually and does not seal the ventricle properly, and then we talk about Ebstein's Malformation. In this case, the valve does not seal properly and low oxygenated blood leaks back to the right atrium.

This causes atrium enlargement and leads to congestive heart failure (you will find the symptoms listed at the beginning of the Pulmonary Stenosis post from last week), and build up of fluid in the lungs.

Ebstein's Malformation often is accompanied by ASD (Atrial Septal Defect, a whole between right and left atria, upper heart chambers). This causes the blue, oxygen depleted blood and the red, oxygenated blood to mix. This leads to poor oxygenation, low oxygen levels in the body.

Treatment

Depending on severity the condition may be left untreated and not affect the patient in any major way. It will have to be monitored though.
If the condition is severe it may require surgical intervention, through an open heart surgery.

The cardiothoracic surgeon may be able to fix the valve, reposition the leaflets or may need to replace the valve completely with a cow's or pig's tissue valve, called bioprosthesis.

In Abi's case the valve is lowered and not fully closing causing some mild regurgitation.

Before the Double Switch surgery it was working on the systemic side, performing left ventricle's job, pumping blood to the body at a much higher pressure. This led to much more severe regurgitation and caused multiple problems.

Now, after Double Switch, it's back on the non-systemic side, working under much lower pressure. It is not leaking much, hence it's not affecting Abi in any way at the moment.

It was too risky for Abi to attempt to fix it during the Double Switch surgery, so it was left intact then and, so far, seems like it was a good move.

Art
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Pulmonary Stenosis

noreply@blogger.com (Abi's Mom and Dad) — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 23:53:00 +0000

Alright, time for another post. For today I picked another of Abigail's heart's complexities, namely Pulmonary Stenosis (PS).

There are several forms of this abnormality and Pulmonary Stenosis may occur in couple different places of the heart-lung circulation system.

Let's start with a short description of what Pulmonary Stenosis means. Basically it means there is an obstruction to the blood flow from right ventricle (right, lower pumping chamber) to the lungs.

Since there's an obstruction, it is harder for the right ventricle to pump the deoxygenated blood to the lungs. Heart needs to work harder, and depending on how severe the PS is, even much harder, leading to congestive heart failure.

Here are couple possible variations of Pulmonary Stenosis.

The most popular, Pulmonary Valve Stenosis occurs when the obstruction of blood flow is caused by the tricuspid valve. The tricuspid valve has 3 leaflets (3 cusps) which open fully when the hurt pumps blood to the pulmonary artery and closes, when the right ventricle relaxes, to avoid a back-flow of blood from pulmonary artery to the heart chamber.

When the tricuspid valve leaflets are fused together, or the valve is malformed and there are 2 cusps (leaflets) instead of 3 (then it's called 'bicuspid valve'), the valve does not open fully, obstructing blood flow.

Subvalvular Stenosis, is a blood flow obstruction that occurs just below the Pulmonary Valve, in the upper part of the right ventricle called the outflow tract. The outflow tract is a muscular tunnel that normally is wide open, unobstructed and participates in pumping blood to the lungs. When the outflow tract is abnormally thickened, it can cause Subvalvular Stenosis, also called subpulmonic or infundibular stenosis (infundibular from the name of the outflow tract muscle- infundibulum).

Supravalvular Pulmonic Stenosis is a narrowing of the Pulmonary Artery just above the Pulmonary Valve.

When the Pulmonary Artery narrows after it branches off to the left and right lung then we talk about Peripheral Pulmonary Artery Stenosis or Branch Pulmonary Artery Stenosis.

Symptoms

Unless the PS is very severe there will be no symptoms, other than heart murmur.

If the PS is severe, it may lead to congestive heart failure and the symptoms I listed in my previous post, Ventricular Septal Defect, but let me list them here too:

- poor feeding
- poor weight gain
- fast breathing even when the baby is fully relaxed and in deep sleep
- excessive sweating
- congestion
- cough

In a very young child it will also lead to cyanosis, blue discoloration resulting from low blood oxygenation.

Treatment

Very mild PS may not require any treatment, but the child will have to be closely monitored by pediatric cardiologist.

Severe PS may require ambulatory or surgical treatment, depending on the severity of PS, placement and overall condition of the patient.

Pulmonary Valve Stenosis can be treated by inserting a small balloon placed at the tip of a catheter through patient's groin area, to the valve and blowing it up, opening the valve. The procedure is called ballon valvuloplasty.

Ballon Valvuloplasty happens under deep sedation and usually patients are discharged from the hospital within 1 to 2 days. If the narrowing reoccurs, the procedure may be repeated, or patient referred to surgery.

Subvalvular Stenosis (obstruction below Pulmonary Valve) or Supravalvular Stenosis (obstruction above Pulmonary Valve) is usually repaired through an open heart surgery after putting the patient on a heart-lung (bypass) machine.

During the surgery the obstructing muscle can be removed, or partially removed, or valve opened, if dealing with fused valve cusps.

When dealing with Peripheral Pulmonary Artery Stenosis, the narrowed artery can be patched, or alternatively a catheter ballon dilation can be performed to stretch the arteries.

Recovery

Unless the child is very sick, the recovery time after the surgery is usually couple days.

In Abi's case, we dealt with Subvalvar Pulmonary Stenosis, since her left ventricle was doing the job of the right ventricle and was on the non-systemic side, the blood was going out through a bicuspid valve. Also, to add to the complexity, her tricuspid valve was malformed (Ebstein's Malformation), which means it was located lower than it should, and it was close to the VSD, causing one of the leaflets to leap through the VSD and further obstruct blood flow to the lungs.

I hope this is a pretty clear and not too long description of Pulmonary Stenosis. There are many great resources out there, if you are interested in getting more in-depth information.

Art

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Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD)

noreply@blogger.com (Abi's Mom and Dad) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 02:57:00 +0000

We would like to write couple posts on the heart defects Abi was born with, to break down the complexity of her heart and explain one by one.

Normal Heart:

Let's start with the most common heart defect among newborns, Ventricular Septal Defect, or VSD.

To simplify, heart is built of 4 chambers. The two upper chambers are called the atria (left and right atrium) and the two lower chambers are called ventricles (left and right ventricle).

What is VSD?

It is a hole between the two, lower heart chambers.

Interventricular Septum is the wall of tissue between left and right ventricle (the lower chambers), and when there is a single hole or there are multiple holes in this wall, then we talk about VSD.

There are 2 common forms of VSD:

- Muscular VSD

- Membranous VSD or peri-membranous defect

Muscular VSD means there are holes in the muscle wall all over the septum. As long as the holes are small, there is a good chance they will close on their own, or with help of medications over time, without the need for surgery.

If the holes are large or located in the RV outflow tract then the surgery may be required to prevent the VSD from affecting the nearby aortic valve.

Membranous VSD (peri-membranous defect) occurs close to the aortic and tricuspid valves and the hole does not contain muscle tissue.

In any case, when VSD is present, oxygenated blood from the left ventricle, where there's higher pressure, crosses to the right ventricle. The larger the hole the more blood crosses over.

How is VSD discovered?

Usually within the first couple days or weeks of life, a very soft heart murmur maybe heard. Since for the first couple weeks after birth pressures in lungs and right ventricle are higher, less blood crosses from the left ventricle through VSD, hence the murmur can be very soft or even completely absent.

Once the pressures in lungs and right ventricle get lower to normal, more blood will be crossing between the chambers causing more audible murmur.

For some time the baby may be asymptomatic and if the VSD is small, there's a chance it will close on its own. Usually patients are, or at least should be closely monitored.

If the VSD is large or is not closing on its own, there is a chance the baby will develop a congestive heart failure, also called over-circulation.

Since in Abi's case we already knew about VSD, the murmur was discovered early, but it was not very loud.

The following are signs of congestive heart failure, which Abi was showing as well:

- poor feeding
- poor weight gain
- fast breathing even when the baby is fully relaxed and in deep sleep
- excessive sweating
- congestion
- cough

Depending on the size of VSD the aforementioned symptoms may be more or less severe.

Treatment of VSD

If the VSD is small and there are no symptoms of Congestive Heart Failure, there may be no medical nor surgical treatment necessary and the VSD may close by itself.

If the VSD is larger, medication to strengthen heart and diuretics to help body get rid of water, may be applied. If the medication is helping with controlling over-circulation, there's still a chance VSD will close on its own and no surgical intervention will be needed.

Also increasing calories intake, by adding high calorie formula to breast milk, or using less water with formula may be advised to help the baby gain weight.

Surgery

Surgical intervention to close VSD may be necessary when there are no signs of improvement, no signs of VSD closing on its own.

It may also be recommended when the baby is not gaining weight and the Congestive Heart Failure persist, or there is a risk of a permanent damage to other organs due to VSD.

Recovery

Recovering after surgical VSD closure takes couple weeks, but it's been said the complete recovery process is 6 weeks. After closing VSD (if it was the only heart defect) the baby is considered healthy and should not have any further problems as a result of VSD

Art

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Abi's First Vacation in Poland

noreply@blogger.com (Abi's Mom and Dad) — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 19:33:00 +0000

We got back from our first family vacation in Poland a while back, but with all we've got going on it took a while to write this post and get all the pictures. Actually we are not going to use all of the pictures in this post ;-)

Abi and I (Art) left to Poland one week before mommy could join us, so it was our first, this long flight, just the two of us.

I can't say enough about how wonderful Abigail was all this time. Starting from the airport in the USA through Germany all the way to Poland. She was a delight to travel with. No, it was not easy, it was exhausting, but it could have been so much worse if she wasn't as wonderful as she was.

We both had a lot of patience for each other and Abi even took a 4 hour nap on the flight to Germany. Sure I wish she slept 7 or 8 hours out of the 9 hours flight, but better this than nothing, right? :-)

This is Abi at the airport and on the plane.

I took Abi to the church I used go to in Poland. She was playing with some of my friends' kids and it was so fun to watch her interact with kids that did not speak English. The conversations were priceless, but most importantly, all the kids had fun.

She also got to meet her cousins for the first time, spend some time with them and get to know them ;-)

Since Abi loves animals and zoos, we took her to this nice Zoo in the place we lived. We walked and took this fun train that she enjoyed a lot.

Since Abi and I arrived in Poland a week earlier Abi got to greet mommy at the airport. Mommy was showing a lot at the moment, but since no body had known about our next little girl, she put all the cloths on to cover the belly and not to spoil the fun of telling everyone through a fun t-shirt we had made back home.

It took everyone some time to pay attention to the t-shirt, but here you have both grandmas the moment they read the what was on the t-shirt, namely " I'll be a big sister! February 2013"

Then at my parents we made Abi's first bonfire which she loved.

And here's Abi at her first dentist visit ;-) Yes, no stress, no fear, rather fascination ;-) Luckily she has beautiful and healthy teeth.

There is so much more to tell about this trip and so many more pictures, but there's no way we could do it in one post here.

It was amazing to watch Abi interact with our families and friends, with people she met for the first time in her life, people from different culture and speaking mostly or only Polish. Before going to Poland we had to work hard on reminding Abi to speak Polish with J.

Since J was often forgetting to be consistent and require Abi to speak with her Polish only, they used to carry bilingual conversations, what led Abi to believe no matter what language she speaks, everybody understands English. It caused some challenges in Poland at the very beginning, but the change in Abi and her Polish after spending only 2.5 weeks in Poland was unbelievable.

We didn't have to remind Abi to speak Polish with J once since we got back. She switches between both languages automatically, very fast and without getting confused.

I so wish my brain had the same potential now, at my age hehehe.

I couldn't be any more proud of my little girl ;-)

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Abi growing up - playground skills :)

noreply@blogger.com (Abi's Mom) — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 11:07:00 +0000

YouTube Video

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Abi's project: bird house

noreply@blogger.com (Abi's Mom) — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 12:44:00 +0000

Abi and I had so much fun making little bird houses this summer. She did most of the painting and really enjoyed the project.

Now do we hang them outside or just keep them at the house to preserve our little project :)?

~J

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Abi is 3!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Abi's Mom) — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:06:00 +0000

Happy birthday my sweetness

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Day with mommy

noreply@blogger.com (Abi's Mom) — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 02:49:00 +0000

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~~~~~~ Abigail Maja ~~~~~~

15 years later

10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

Great Cardio Appointment

Another cardio visit another great report

Last year review

5th Birthday - or Birthdays ?

Little bit of winter, little bit of spring

It's been too long

Drowning doesn't look like drowning

Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA)

Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA)

Christmas 2012

LTGA/ccTGA post published today.

3 years post Double Switch

And here we are

Congenitally Corrected Transposition of Great Arteries

Ebstein's Malformation of the Tricuspid Valve

Pulmonary Stenosis

Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD)

Abi's First Vacation in Poland

Abi growing up - playground skills :)

Abi's project: bird house

Abi is 3!!!

Day with mommy

Abigail Maja