Today is day 4 of Congenital Heart Defect Awareness week! Thanks for staying with us. Today we have our first guest post. This is a post from Esther, who is a friend that we knew for years through my husband's work. She has two wonderful daughters and her second daughter was born only a few months after Audra with a CHD. They also went to Mott hospital at U of M and her daughter had the same surgeon as Audra had - Dr. Bove. I am very sad that we had to bond over such difficult health issues for our daughters, but we feel blessed to have Esther and her family in our lives. Thank you to Esther for sharing! Here are Esther's thoughts:
Congenital Heart Defect. These words are usually meaningless until a doctor uses them to describe a problem with your unborn child. Then those words stop you in your tracks and just about stop your own heart. I heard these words used to describe a problem with our daughter at 20 weeks gestation. Our precious girl was born with an atrial septal defect (ASD) and a ventricular septal defect (VSD). This basically means two holes in her heart. We were blessed to be cared for by a wonderful surgeon and incredible hospital, and at three months old my daughter had open heart surgery that saved her life. Tears of joy fill my eyes even now as I recall how my champion 8 lb baby girl went through more than I could have imagined, and came out better than ever! My family and I are so grateful for other CHD parents that prepared us, supported us, prayed for us, and cheered us on when times were tough. I feel gratitude beyond what I can express. The experience we have with our baby girl has made us different people, better people, and given us a CHD family. Our CHD family has inspired us and created a community of understanding as we all take the journey together toward healthy hearts. There are thousands of us with similar stories and wonderful children that have made our lives worth every minute. A million thanks to the researchers, doctors, nurses, hospitals, care givers and families who have sacrificed so much for the congenital heart! Bless you all!
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