2 years ago tonight ...

[mamatoheartbaby]

my little man was recovering from his open heart surgery. I can remember everything that happened while we were there ... from the beep of machines breathing for him to the screen on the heart monitor ... but even though he was hooked lots of machines he was so beautiful and so PINK!! I look back at pictures from before his surgery and they make me sad .. I didn't think he looked as blue as he was..... but here we are 2 years later and he is the picture of health ... his heart will never be like a normal heart ... he will always have Tetralogy of Fallot but thanks to the skilled hands of his surgeon and the medical miricles of our time  he can live a healthy life.

Addison a few hours after his surgery!

5 days later, waiting to go home!

For your own knowledge and info:

 Congenital Heart Defect Statistics & Facts


Congenital heart defects are America's highest birth defect. Nearly one of every 100 babies is born with a CHD.

Congenital Heart Defects are not always found during pregnancy or at birth, many are not found till childhood, adolescence, adulthood, or after death when it is to late.

Many Dr's believe that CHD's are genetic, although most people know nothing of Heart Defects till they have a child born with one.

CHD's can not be cured, the heart must be monitored throughout life. Most will need multiple open heart surgeries, some may even need a heart transplant.

Babies born with CHD's may need their first open heart surgery at just a few hours or days old.


Congenital heart defects are one of the highest causes of birth defect related deaths.


This year almost 40,000 babies will be born with a congenital heart defect. 4,000 of them will not live to see their first birthday.


91,000 life years are lost each year in this country due to congenital heart defects.


The cost for inpatient surgery to repair congenital heart defects exceeds $2.2 billion a year.


Congenital heart defects occur frequently and are often life threatening, yet research into them is grossly under funded.


Only one penny of every dollar donated to the American Heart Association goes towards congenital heart defect research.


Of every dollar the government spends on medical funding only a fraction of a penny is directed toward congenital heart defect research.


The Children's Heart Foundation is the only organization strictly created to fund congenital heart defect research.


In the last decade death rates for congenital heart defects have declined by almost 30% due to advances made through research.


The Children's Heart Foundation has directed almost $2 million to 24 different congenital heart defect research projects.


More than 50% of all children born with a congenital heart defect will require at least one invasive surgery in their lifetime.


There are 35 different types of congenital heart defects. Little is known about the cause of most them. There is not yet a cure for any of them.


In the U.S., twice as many children die from congenital heart defects each year than from all forms of childhood cancer combined, yet funding for pediatric cancer research is five times higher than funding for CHD

[kb714]

Jan. 3, 2008 at 10:33 PM He's amazing.  Good luck and good health to him... :)

[josefeene18]

Jan. 3, 2008 at 11:05 PM I know exactly how you feel! When I look at pictures of Joshua when he was a small baby and see how dusky he was in color, it makes me so sad. Plus he was always so swollen and puffy. It's amazing how resilient kids are. God has truly blessed us with very special little boys.

[Hey_Momma]

Jan. 9, 2008 at 10:52 PM Reading though this & looking at the pics brought back memories from Alexander's surgery. We got some true fighters on our hands don't we?

[VarelaClan]

Jun. 3, 2008 at 10:08 PM Wow! What a beautiful baby! My son was born with 3 holes in his heart. They said that he would need surgery (not for a few years thought) to close two of them. Right before going to his 1 year check-up we had church members lay hands on him (I was always skeptical of this) & pray over him. When we showed up at the hospital for the tests, the doctor was amazed. All 3 holes closed on their own! ALL THREE! The doctor came in jumping up and down because he was so excited to give us the news. I can't imagine what it's like to actually go through the surgery. You are a tough mama. God bless your little boy!