I wanted to post this on the exact date, however we were in Florida for some MUCH needed family time! :)
I kept a journal during this time and wanted to share how much we have come along since then!
Tuesday, June 20, 2006:Along with Adam, I headed to my routine OBGYN appt. At the office that I go to, they perform ultrasounds every visit. So it was not unusual for me to have an ultrasound. The doctor came in and started the US, he was scanning all of the baby's measurements. The head, the arms, the legs, the stomach, and then the heart. "Hm mm..... hm's are not good" I remember turning to Adam and watching his face turn pale. I felt my body go numb and the rest was a blur. The next thing I remember the doctor was walking us out of the exam room and into another room, where a lady scheduled us to meet with a pediatric cardiologist. The doctor gave us hugs and walked us to the waiting room. I remember walking through the waiting room seeing all of the ecstatic pregnant women with their new ultrasound pictures, my hands empty for the first time. The minute I took a step out of those doors, I embraced Adam and tears poured down my face.
Thursday, June 22, 2006:We met the pediatric cardiologist here in Tulsa. We had an ultrasound, and echo cardiogram. The cardiologist came in to give us the results "I have decided to not call it "Hypo plastic Left Heart Syndrome" right now, however this could come up later." At the time they thought Gavin only had three abnormalities: 1. abnormal mitral valve-flaps are stiffer than normal, not opening up as much as they would like for blood flow 2. abnormal left ventricle- smaller than normal, with mass. 3. abnormal aortic valve-smaller than normal. We were told he will require some sort of surgery after he was born, it may not be as extensive as originally thought. We were told to come back to the cardiologist on the following Thursday to do some more tests. They were wanting Gavin to flip over to be face up to get a better view.
Thursday, June 29, 2006:We received some discouraging news this morning. Our baby indeed has Hypo plastic Left Heart Syndrome. We will be traveling to OKC from now on until delivery to see a high risk doc along with a cardiologist. We will be delivering our baby in OKC. We have some decisions to make and we feel overwhelmed right now. I am trying to be strong and know that God performs miracles. I have faith that God will continue to protect Gavin and help him to be a healthy baby. We don't know exactly what the future holds, we will just have to take it one day at a time.
At this point we were told that Gavin could have downs syndrome, cerebral palsy, be extremely delayed or become ill and pass away. We were told that Gavin's chances of survival at birth and during the first surgery were very slim. We were told that during his surgeries he could have a stroke or come out on life support. We were told that Gavin may require a heart transplant at birth if not later in life. We were given 3 options for after Gavin's birth, heart transplant, three stage surgery, or take him home to pass away. We knew that we wanted to do everything to keep our son alive. We were absolutely devastated, it was so hard to not focus on the negative because we were told the worst. The next 4 months were tiring and LONG.
July 9, 2007:Even though the last year has been hard, Gavin has come along way. Gavin has beaten the odds, he is still alive, he doesn't have the abnormalities they said he would have. We know we still have a long haul ahead of us, but we are trying to focus on one day at a time. His strength and his smile gets us through!
Thank you God for giving us the strength through this time and thank you for our precious son you created.
We know that there are SO many people around the WORLD praying for Gavin and we thank those who have shared in this last year with us, we are FOREVER grateful to you.
"For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear; I will help you." Isaiah 41:13
