.
.
.
Saturday we celebrated Drew’s 2nd Birthday. It was smaller and more low-key than his 1st Birthday was but still very special. Birthdays in our family are always a reason to celebrate, but I have to say there has been an extra feeling of gratitude with these first two Birthdays of Drew’s. Many of you reading this already know why, but for those of you who don’t…
Like almost half of babies with Down syndrome, Drew was born with a heart defect. Sometimes these congenital heart defects are minor ones, like a small hole, or slightly leaky valve, and they remedy themselves or can be managed with medication. Sometimes though, they are more serious. Drew’s was serious. He had what is known as a complete AV (atrioventricular) canal defect. To put it simply, Drew had a huge hole in the center of his heart. Instead of four separate chambers, he had one. His oxygenated blood mixed with the non-oxygenated blood. By the time he was one month old he had started to go into congestive heart failure. He was a very, very sick baby. He was hospitalized 7 times before he had his open heart surgery on March 5th, 2008. He was 5 months old at the time. I’m sure I don’t need to describe to you the kind of fear this causes. Any of you parents who haven’t been through something like this feel an ache in your chest just thinking about it. Those of you who have faced losing your child know first-hand. Birthdays are extra special when you’ve faced the possibility of your baby not having one; they are most definitely a reason to celebrate.
Like almost half of babies with Down syndrome, Drew was born with a heart defect. Sometimes these congenital heart defects are minor ones, like a small hole, or slightly leaky valve, and they remedy themselves or can be managed with medication. Sometimes though, they are more serious. Drew’s was serious. He had what is known as a complete AV (atrioventricular) canal defect. To put it simply, Drew had a huge hole in the center of his heart. Instead of four separate chambers, he had one. His oxygenated blood mixed with the non-oxygenated blood. By the time he was one month old he had started to go into congestive heart failure. He was a very, very sick baby. He was hospitalized 7 times before he had his open heart surgery on March 5th, 2008. He was 5 months old at the time. I’m sure I don’t need to describe to you the kind of fear this causes. Any of you parents who haven’t been through something like this feel an ache in your chest just thinking about it. Those of you who have faced losing your child know first-hand. Birthdays are extra special when you’ve faced the possibility of your baby not having one; they are most definitely a reason to celebrate.
.
.
One of his favorite presents
..
.
"ha ha - you can't get me in here".
.
mmmm??
.
.
.
He'd rather chuck it at my head than eat it :)
- is this kid really related to me?
Yes, birthdays are special when you might not have had one.
ReplyDeleteWhat is that thing behind/on his head? It is so very pretty and colourful.
The pretty colorful thing on his head is a really neat bow from one of his presents - it made a good party hat - for about 7 seconds :)
ReplyDelete