Friday, August 15, 2008

Memorial Blood Drive A Success!

Thank you to the 75 people that showed up on July 29th to donate bood in memory of Ava. The South Bend Medical Foundation said they can't remember a time when so many people showed up for a drive. We were hoping to get forty people and they had to add staff and start an hour earlier to accomodate everyone! However, only 45 people (or 60%) were able to actually donate. Many were deferred for various reasons such as, 90 degree temperature, high/low blood pressure, open sores, low iron, etc. The Medical Foundation staff said this is normal especially because of the number of first time donars that arrived. Early in the day they told us not to be disappointed with the number of people who could not donate. They explained that it would be a success if 50% in attendance gave blood. So we were happy with the results and intend to make Ava's Memorial Blood Drive an annual event! Hope you can all join us again next year and we should all be more informed about the procedures to donate. We were especially glad to have sponsored the event as my grandma went into the hospital the very next day and needed two units of blood. Thank you for giving to or community!


Several of you have asked about the Walk in Ann Arbor in September. It is actually a one mile fun run. I had hoped to plan a nice event with matching T-shirts and a picnic lunch to follow. We were hoping several of Ava's followers could join us to support Mott Hospital's Pediatric Heart Unit. However, we are going to postpone this celebration until next year. I found out after the blood drive that I am just not ready yet. It was very rewarding to sponsor the event but also very emotional on Ava's 10 month birthday. So I know I will be a mess in September since she would have almost been one year old at the time of the run. I think it's better if we just go as a family this year. I know that you all understand and we would be honored if some of you would consider joining us next year for the event. Maybe then we can enjoy it a little bit, too. The run is on September 28th (one day before Ava's birthday) and if you would like to help us raise money for the event you can send it to us (email me if you don't know the address). The money we raise will go to Mott Children's Hospital where Ava lived her entire life.


Thanks again everyone! Jamie and I would be lost without you. "Good friends are like Angels, you don't have to see them to know they are there!"


Heart Hugs!















at Friday, August 15, 2008 14 comments
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Ava with Mommy & Daddy

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.

Before surgery

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

Before Surgery

After 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)