Ava is doing well. Her white blood cell count went down some but is not within a normal range yet. Her blood and urine cultures are testing negative for an infection but they said that it could take 72 hours for it to show up. They are encouraged that her white blood cell count has gone down, that she has no fever, and that she seems to be doing well. She has another blood test at 4:00 a.m. to test for this again. Praying for a decrease in white blood cells again tomorrow morning.
They have turned down the pressure again on C-PAP (Ava's little oxygen mask). They continue to wean her off Dopamine and are planning on discontinuing her Morphine tomorrow. They also started feeding Ava again. She is now on a formula that has very low fat content. It's not the same as having my breast milk, but at least it's a step forward.
I FINALLY got to hold Ava today! It has been 16 long days since I've had my beautiful girl in my arms. It was awesome. For all those mothers out there: do not take your children for granted! Hold them close to your heart. Cherish each and every moment that you have with them. Cherish every kiss, hug, diaper change, bath, feeding, smile, cry, hand hold, etc. These are the moments that I am holding onto each and every day.
Ke'Myiah (Candais's baby) is doing well too. Her chest was closed the day of surgery. They plan to extubate her tomorrow or Saturday (obviously she moves a bit faster than Ava). We have gotten to know Candais a lot more lately. She's been "hanging out" with us often. We are hoping that her mom and boyfriend can make it here this weekend. Until then she knows she has us around if she needs something.
Brayden continues to be a great big brother. I keep expecting him to whine and complain when we go back and forth to the hospital four or more times a day. But he is always just as anxious as we are to see Ava. Jamie and Brayden will probably return home on Sunday. I will miss both of them immensely!
Thank you Howard-Ellis students and staff for the wonderful card. It's amazing that every student was able to sign it! I hope all is well at the school. Hello to all my students in room 9. Thank you everybody for all of your thoughts and prayers! Goodnight!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
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Ava with Mommy & Daddy
Isn't she beautiful!
It's A Girl!
Hello everyone and welcome to Ava Christine's Blog.
First a little info about the new edition to our family.
This beautiful little girl comes to our family after many years of trying on her parents part as well as her being the first girl in 19 years. Yes 19 years! So to say that she is going to be a little spoiled is putting it very lightly.
Ava Christine was welcomed into this world on September 29 2007 by her mommy Jamie, Daddy Jamie, big brother Brayden, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and numerous friends. Shortly after Ava's arrival the wonderful medical staff at Memorial hospital of South Bend found what they called a murmur in Ava's heart. After some testing little Ava was transported to Motts' Children Hospital at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Jamie and Jamie were informed that little Ava has a heart defect that could be life threatening and that she needed to undergo open heart surgery to fix the defects. So, on Tuesday October 2 2007 Ava was operated on by the wonderful medical staff at the U of M. What this team of doctors did to Ava is incredible. First of all Jamie explained to me over the phone today just what problems Ava's heart has endured. Ava's heart has a couple of different problems. The first is known as Interrupted Aortic Arch. The following info about interrupted aortic arch is best explained by the U of M Cardiac website, "Interrupted aortic arch is a very rare heart defect that occurs when the aorta does not develop normally while the baby is in the mother’s womb. It comprises about 1% of all congenital heart defects. It usually occurs along with other heart problems such as truncus arteriosus, ventricular septal defect, transposition of the great arteries, and aortic stenosis.The aorta is the large blood vessel that arises from the left side of the normal heart and takes red blood out to the body. The first part of the aorta, called the ascending aorta (1) arises upwards. It then curves leftward forming the aortic arch (2). The aorta then curves downward towards the lower body, and this part is called the descending aorta (3). Three blood vessels exit from the aortic arch and supply the head and arms with red blood. These vessels are called the innominate artery (4), the left carotid artery (5), and the left subclavian artery (6).In babies with interrupted aortic arch, there is a complete blockage between the ascending and the descending aorta (1). This means that there is no direct way for red blood leaving the heart to reach the body parts that are "downstream" from the blockage. The site of the defect varies (2) and may or may not involve the take-off of the head and neck vessels. In most babies with interrupted aortic arch (70-90%) there is also a large ventricular septal defect (3).In newborns with interrupted aortic arch, the only way for blood to bypass the blockage is via the patent ductus arteriosus (4). Prior to birth, this small blood vessel permits blood to by-pass the baby’s fluid-filled lungs. One or two days after birth, this vessel usually closes on its own. In a baby with interrupted aortic arch, if the duct closes, blood can no longer reach the lower body. This can cause the baby to suddenly become very ill. Therefore, after the diagnosis is made, a medicine called prostaglandin is used to keep the ductus arteriosus open until surgery". (http://www.med.umich.edu/cvc/mchc/parint.htm)
So how did the doctors fix this? "Interrupted aortic arch is a serious heart defect that requires surgery soon after birth. The goal of surgery is to create remove the blockage. This used to be done in a two-stage operation but is now done most of the time in one stage. The two ends of the aorta are sewn together (1) and the patent ductus arterious (2) is tied off. Sometimes a patch is needed to reinforce the repair. If present, a patch is sewn over the VSD (3)". (http://www.med.umich.edu/cvc/mchc/parint.htm)
In #1 of the picture below is the part of Ava' heart that was repaired.
First a little info about the new edition to our family.
This beautiful little girl comes to our family after many years of trying on her parents part as well as her being the first girl in 19 years. Yes 19 years! So to say that she is going to be a little spoiled is putting it very lightly.
Ava Christine was welcomed into this world on September 29 2007 by her mommy Jamie, Daddy Jamie, big brother Brayden, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and numerous friends. Shortly after Ava's arrival the wonderful medical staff at Memorial hospital of South Bend found what they called a murmur in Ava's heart. After some testing little Ava was transported to Motts' Children Hospital at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Jamie and Jamie were informed that little Ava has a heart defect that could be life threatening and that she needed to undergo open heart surgery to fix the defects. So, on Tuesday October 2 2007 Ava was operated on by the wonderful medical staff at the U of M. What this team of doctors did to Ava is incredible. First of all Jamie explained to me over the phone today just what problems Ava's heart has endured. Ava's heart has a couple of different problems. The first is known as Interrupted Aortic Arch. The following info about interrupted aortic arch is best explained by the U of M Cardiac website, "Interrupted aortic arch is a very rare heart defect that occurs when the aorta does not develop normally while the baby is in the mother’s womb. It comprises about 1% of all congenital heart defects. It usually occurs along with other heart problems such as truncus arteriosus, ventricular septal defect, transposition of the great arteries, and aortic stenosis.The aorta is the large blood vessel that arises from the left side of the normal heart and takes red blood out to the body. The first part of the aorta, called the ascending aorta (1) arises upwards. It then curves leftward forming the aortic arch (2). The aorta then curves downward towards the lower body, and this part is called the descending aorta (3). Three blood vessels exit from the aortic arch and supply the head and arms with red blood. These vessels are called the innominate artery (4), the left carotid artery (5), and the left subclavian artery (6).In babies with interrupted aortic arch, there is a complete blockage between the ascending and the descending aorta (1). This means that there is no direct way for red blood leaving the heart to reach the body parts that are "downstream" from the blockage. The site of the defect varies (2) and may or may not involve the take-off of the head and neck vessels. In most babies with interrupted aortic arch (70-90%) there is also a large ventricular septal defect (3).In newborns with interrupted aortic arch, the only way for blood to bypass the blockage is via the patent ductus arteriosus (4). Prior to birth, this small blood vessel permits blood to by-pass the baby’s fluid-filled lungs. One or two days after birth, this vessel usually closes on its own. In a baby with interrupted aortic arch, if the duct closes, blood can no longer reach the lower body. This can cause the baby to suddenly become very ill. Therefore, after the diagnosis is made, a medicine called prostaglandin is used to keep the ductus arteriosus open until surgery". (http://www.med.umich.edu/cvc/mchc/parint.htm)
So how did the doctors fix this? "Interrupted aortic arch is a serious heart defect that requires surgery soon after birth. The goal of surgery is to create remove the blockage. This used to be done in a two-stage operation but is now done most of the time in one stage. The two ends of the aorta are sewn together (1) and the patent ductus arterious (2) is tied off. Sometimes a patch is needed to reinforce the repair. If present, a patch is sewn over the VSD (3)". (http://www.med.umich.edu/cvc/mchc/parint.htm)
In #1 of the picture below is the part of Ava' heart that was repaired.
Before surgery
The Next Step
The next step in repairing Ava's heart was to fix what is known as Truncus Arteriosus. Truncus arteriosus is "characterized by a large ventricular septal defect over which a large, single great vessel (truncus) arises. This single great vessel carries blood both to the body and to the lungs". (http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=11073) Below is a picture of what Ava's heart was like before surgery.
Before Surgery
After Surgery
The above picture shows what the surgeon did to repair Ava's heart. "Surgery is required to close the ventricular septal defect and separate blood flow to the body from blood flow to the lungs. This is generally done early in infancy to prevent high blood pressure from damaging the lungs' arteries. A patch is used to close the ventricular defect. The pulmonary arteries are then disconnected from the single great vessel and a tube (a conduit or tunnel) is placed from the right ventricle to these pulmonary arteries. This is sometimes called a Rastelli repair". (http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=11073)
Blog Archive
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2007
(67)
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October
(28)
- Turning a corner?
- Holding Tight!
- Extubated Again!
- Happy Birthday Ava!
- Quick Update
- sick day at Ronald McDonald's
- Life's Rainbows
- One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
- U-Turn on I94
- Last post from me
- Even More to Overcome!
- The End of C-PAP - Coming Soon???
- Cherishing Every Moment!
- In Her Own Good Time!
- Short and Sweet
- Another message from me
- Ava's on Viagra! What?
- A lot to be thankful for
- Ava's update
- Brayden's note to Ava
- MRI Results
- A different note
- Another Day of Progress for Ava!
- Courage is not always big and loud, sometimes it's...
- More to the roller coaster ride!
- Big Brother Brayden
- UPDATE.....Ava is slowly getting better!
- Trying to keep this up to date
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October
(28)
14 comments:
Jamie,
It gave me goosebumps when I read that you got to hold sweet little Ava. I am so happy for you!
Love,
Emilee
It warms my heart to hear that you were able to hold that sweet, precious bundle of love!!! Just imagine soon you will be able to hold her next to your heart through the night. :)
Love,
Janelle
Zimmerman family,
We are so glad to hear that you were finally able to hold your sweet little miracle! And your right, it's something as little as that that people take for granted! I know you will cherish every moment as well as all the beautiful memories you will create with your sweet little girl. She is so amazing!! We are always praying for her and look forward to your updates. It's so exciting to hear good news! Chloe is always thinking of Ava like she were her own sister! She has such a loving nature and her heart goes out to Ava. We have to comfort her and let her know that God is taking good care of her! I hope that one day soon she will be able to see her. It's amazing how God works through children!
Thinking of her always,
Josh, Becky, Chloe, Ella and Lily Asmus
Jame,
I'm so happy you were able to hold Ava! All the way home from our visit with you all I could think about was how heart breaking it was knowing you
could not hold your precious baby girl. God bless you all! Can't wait to see your beautiful family again!
Lots of love,
Becca
Jamie, i'm so happy that you got to hold sweet ava. I'm sure this was just as important to her as it was to you, share each other's strength because we all know the two of you are true fighters.
On another note, zoe and i were looking over ava's pictures again last night, it was late so i asked her to go to be, and she said...."that's not fair"....i will forever blame you for this one. I really got a good laugh from this, i hope you do to.
love, erin
There is nothing better than holding your child - I'm so glad you and Ava were able to enjoy each others' touch. I will keep praying for more good news. It goes without saying, but is clear from your stories and the pictures you posted - you have two AMAZING children.
Much Love & Prayers -
Emily W.
jame, that's suppose to be i told zoe to go to BED. erin
Jamie, Jamie & Brayden,
Ou thoughts and prayers are with you everyday. Ava is so beautiful and a true "Gift from God". We are so happy you got your little girl. Stay strong and take care of yourselves. Know that there are so many people out here who are behind you and are willing to help whenever you need it.
We love you and are so proud of what wonderful parents and "Big Brother" you are,
Karol and Philip Mazzotta
Hello Zimmermans,
Emilee is so right about Ava's lips. I could just smooch em! I am so happy to hear you got to hold your baby girl. I think of you as I'm reading with the girls, tucking them in, or making them snuggle with me because I know it won't be long before these cherished times will be a part of your life daily.
Love From The Altergotts,
Beth
Good afternoon my sweet Ava christine! Granny couldn't let you know I love you early today, for we had power outage. You will understand all that someday my little one. But for now, good night and God Bless you.
love you
granny and poppy
Jamie and jamie, I am so very happy for both of you to be able to hold your beautiful little girl.
Please tell Bray that poppy and granny love him also very much.
Fran ps I hope to see our Ava this week. Call if you need something brought up.
love you
Fran
Jamie,
I think and pray for your family every night. Your post about holding Ava is so full of the love only those of us with children can know. Big brother Brayden is an awesome sibling. How lucky Ava is to have you all.
Thank you for being a blessing to another Mom who is hurting.
Love, Karen
Zimmerman Family -
Congrats on the beautiful little girl. Ava is a true blessing. We love reading your posts and staying up to date. We can't wait until you bring Ava home so we can all see her! Please let us know if you need anything.
The Muir's
shes doing so much better yay!!!!!!!!
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