Dear Family and Friends:
That's right, it's that time of year again! We are gearing up for TWO Heart Walks this year! We are participating in the Oklahoma City Heart Walk and the Tulsa Heart Walk. Let us fill you in on why we decided to attend both.
2009 was a year full of many up’s and down’s. We started off the year with shocking but exciting news; we were expecting baby #2!
As most of you know, our first son Gavin was born in October of 2006 with a very rare congenital heart defect, Hypo plastic Left Heart Syndrome and other heart defects. HLHS is one of the most complex cardiac defects seen in the newborn. In a child with HLHS all of the structures on the left side of the heart (the side which receives oxygen-rich blood from the lungs and pumps it out to the body) are severely underdeveloped. Treatment involves 're-plumbing' the heart to allow the right side to do the work normally done by the left. Therefore, Gavin only has one ventricle, the right, and it does all the work. This treatment is done through a series of three surgeries. There is no long-term prognosis for the series of surgeries since the oldest children who have undergone them are only in their early twenties. Some children with HLHS eventually will require a heart transplant.
In April of 09’ Gavin had his third repair, the Fontan (open-heart surgery that allows "blue" blood to flow passively to the lungs, and the single ventricle pumps "red" blood to the body). We went to San Diego to follow Dr. Peter Pastuszko, the wonderful surgeon that operated on Gavin during his first two repairs. Gavin did remarkably well right after surgery but regressed within 48 hours. After much needed time to heal and get better, Gavin was on a plane to head back home. Gavin has been through so much in his three years of life, heart caths, suffered a minor stroke, seizures, CT's, MRI, EEGS, weekly doctor appointments, physical therapy, speech therapy, home health care and more. He continues to amaze us with his energy and sweet spirit. This little boy is an ABSOLUTE MIRACLE and we are blessed with his smile everyday!
Shortly after arriving home we found out we were expecting another boy! We were ecstatic that Gavin would have a little brother! Faith’s OB referred us back to the Pediatric Cardiologist, Dr. Alice Kleiwer to get a fetal echo cardiogram. Since Gavin has such a complex heart condition they wanted to get as much information about Baby Boy #2's heart to prepare for his birth. After the echo, which lasted more than an hour, we met with Dr. Kleiwer. She informed us that our un-born baby had 2 heart defects. ASD, (the wall between the two entry chambers of the heart (the atria) does not finish forming) and VSD (which is the most common type of congenital heart disease. In the case of VSD, the wall between the two largest chambers of the heart (the ventricles) does not finish forming). To be honest, we were devastated, angry, and confused. After a very eventful pregnancy, Brody Lane was born into the world on October 22, 2009. Weighing in at a whopping 8lbs 9ounces and a screaming cry that was music to our ears! Immediately after birth an echo was performed and Brody’s “holes” already looked smaller than in the womb. We were thrilled and elated to bring our newest son home. One month later Brody’s heart was checked again and it appears that the holes are closing on their own. Dr. Kleiwer doesn’t want to see Brody again until he is the age of one! We are so happy for Brody’s health and the joy he has brought to our life.
Because of the American Heart Association, Dr. Peter Pastuszko, OKC Cardiology Team, medical staff at The Children’s Hospital in OKC/ Rady’s Children’s in San Diego, Pediatric Cardiology of Tulsa, Gavin and Brody is able to receive the best of care!
We are supporting both the Tulsa and OKC heart walks as our way of saying thanks for all the hard work that the AHA and doctors do in order to save the lives of many others just like Gavin! This is our third year to participate in the OKC Heart Walk. There are lots of other children with Congenital Heart Defects, the NUMBER ONE birth defect! So please help us in making awareness not only about HLHS but Heart Defects in general. We are creating a team of walkers to help us reach a goal for the American Heart Association Walk. We know that not everyone will be able to participate with us but we wanted to invite you to visit our web page by clicking either of the links below. If you would like you can make a donation in honor of Gavin and or Brody on their personal web page. Please do not feel obligated---we truly just wanted to share our project, which we are doing in honor of Gavin and Brody with you. We plan to put our 'hearts' into this yearly. Any amount would be greatly appreciated. Thank you to all of our 'heart' supporters out there! We love all of you and God Bless.
Adam, Faith, Gavin & Brody
If you are interested, send me an email and I will pass along the information!
afgk03@gmail.com
Gavin is loving school now and his teachers/director are the best! The director contacted me a few weeks ago about doing a fundraiser for the American Heart Association in honor of Gavin. I was touched by her kindness and couldn't believe it when she told me her idea. So tomorrow night his school is putting on a Parents Night Out. The kids get to enjoy a fun night at school and Safari Joe, with some wild life, will be there to entertain the kids! All donations will go to AHA! Most of the teachers and their families decided to walk in the heart walk with us, so the kids created a bulletin board with their footprints and names. It seriously brought tears to my eyes when I looked at the board. It says "Walking for Gavin". So to all the PALS teachers and Ms. Kelli, thank you so much for loving my son and supporting a great cause. We love you all!
