Jamie wanted me to blog something, but her last blog pretty much summed it up. Ava's options are pretty much limited to 1. What can you say? We walked into her room this morning to a great surprise though, somebody got Ava dressed for the 1st time in her life. Jamie keeps saying she looks like such a normal baby being dressed.
She seemed to do very well today considering what we now know. I was pushed into helping feed her today by the nurse, which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, actually we enjoyed our time together.
Grandma and Papa came up to see her today and she smiled at grandma a few times. Jamie said she smiled at her yesterday for the 1st time while she was awake. Ava does smile alot when she's sleeping. I think it's because she knows she's got us wrapped around her finger and she's laughing at us.
Anyways, good luck to my sweet girl and good night. We will see you in the morning. Bray wants you to know we all love you and for some reason he wants you to turn into a boy. Usually I would jump up and say something about this, but at this point, I don't care. We just want you to get better and come home. We love you Ava!!!!
Thursday, November 15, 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
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November
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- ECHO results
- 8 Pounds Yet?
- "Status Quo"
- Just an Update
- Happy Thanksgiving from Aunt Trace
- U of M Report
- What will the future hold?
- Jamie, this post is for you. Ava WILL get through ...
- Jamie wanted me to blog something, but her last bl...
- Broken Hearted
- Not Quite Ready to Leave ICU
- Not Even A "Whiff"
- Team Meeting
- Finally Some Good News!
- Watching and Waiting
- Quick Update
- 3rd Time is a Charm?
- For Mommy & Daddy
- Rough Times at U of M
- To good to be true
- Out of ICU!
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November
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12 comments:
Been praying harder than ever for Sweet Ava and thoughts and Prayers are with you all, as always......
Good morning sweet Ava Christine. I am so happy you seemed to have had a good day yesterday. Oh boy, I bet you looked like the most beautiful girl in the world all dressed up. I wish I could have seen you. Im jealous that your papa and grandma are theere. When I get rid of this cold Im coming up to get some of those wonderful smiles! You look so much like your mom!!!!!!!!!!! Well I best go. Please do well today sweet baby girl. The prayers are stronger than ever and we love you so much.
granny and poppy
Yesterday was only the beginning - she will make all of her clothes look beautiful - as only a beautiful little girl can! We are all pulling for her (and your family). Rely on everyone that is here to help you even in the smallest way. We are praying even harder, keep the faith!
Ginger Andres
We wanted you to know that you are in our thought and prayers. I can not wait to see little Miss Ava in all of her many outfits. Wishing you only the very best
Jamie & Family,
I'm praying for all of you daily and hoping that the doctor's are giving you the worst case senario and that God heals Ava quickly. Keep being positive and enjoy every minute you have with your family. What you have been through and are going through should put all of our lives into prespective. I know it does mine. I will keep praying for you and your family and all the precious little babies there with Ava. Hang in there!
Sarah Gowen
Dear Zimmerman family,
Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. This roller coaster is sometimes too much to bear, I know. Keep the faith and know that you have to take 1 step at a time. 1 minute at a time. Just know we are all praying for you. We are all thinking of you and we know that you are doing the best you can. Just make sure you are taking care of yourselves as well as Ava.
Love, Barb, Dana and Heather Daniels
What a courageous little angel you have!! We've been praying for you and the children ask about you daily!! As with everyone else, our thoughts and prayers are with you!
Love, The True's
Jamie, this post is for Wilma and Bill. I am so thankful they have been there so much for you and Jamie. What wonderful parents boy Jamie has. And I can see in the pics how proud crazy hair grandma is of our new perfect girl!!!! I feel helpless sometimes, and Knowing Wilma is there makes us all feel better. Thank you Bill and Wilma and we will see you on Turkey day! Please give my Ava kisses for me. Our Ava is going to be spoiled rotten!!!!! Thats a good thing!!!
love to all of you and special kisses for Bray and Ava
granny and poppy
Jamie and Jamie,
I am so happy to hear that you have a beautiful new addition to your family! Ava is just gorgeous and I hope to get to see her soon. I am so sorry I have been out of touch and have not been there for the two of you in your time of need.
My thoughts and prayers are with you always.
Ginger-Lee
Zimmerman Family,
We are so sorry to hear about the loss of your beautiful little Ava. Our thoughts and prayers are with you during the rough roads ahead.
The Bice Family
posts are very nice.
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