Update on baby boy's heart

We had a very long day today in Ann Arbor at U of M. I was soooo hungry and now I am super tired! We met with a few different doctors and they all confirmed what the doctor in Saginaw had said last week that our baby does have "Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome" a major heart defect. This includes Tricuspid Atresia. Hypoplastic Right heart is more rare than Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, but it is kind of treated in the same way. Basically, the right side of his heart did not develop. He will live on one ventricle doing all of the work. The baby was moving so much during all of our scans that they will have to see if they can get even more specific when I go back in four weeks. They were very glad that he was active though...just means that he is healthy right now, so praise God! They also noticed that his Mitral Valve is leaky. This could be a serious thing for the baby right now. We are praying that his valve will stay the same or get better. At the very end of the day, we sat down with a Dr. Russell, who explained the different surgeries that they can do. They really won't know what our child exactly needs until we move further along. There are a few things it will depend on. He will probably need a surgery within the first week of life, a surgery at 3-4 months, and a surgery at 2 years. We were encouraged when he told us that some of the kids with his defect can still lead a semi-active life...they just can't play competitive sports. He also told us that these procedures are so new, (in the last ten or so years) that they can't predict life for him in say 30 years. Some cases require a heart transplant.

It was alot to take in again today. We know God has all of this planned out for us! Thank you for all of the kind words, support, and prayers! I can't go through this alone, I need my friends and family!

All of our love--Pat and Megan