CHD Awareness week

Technically I am a bit late with this since it started on the 7th but I am going to add my little bit in any way. The Congenital Heart Defect Blog which has launched the 7 for 7 campaign: Lists of 7 things about CHD. Here is my first list: 7 pictures of Evan in the hospital.

1. Evan before we were able to spring him from the hospital. He had had his first surgery but we were stuck in the PICU while we were waiting to see if his heart block would go away which it didn't. At the time he was hooked up to an external pacemaker so holding was rather tricky.

2. This was after his Glen. I had just given him a sponge bath thinking that he was going to have to spend another day in the hospital. About an hour later we got the news that we were going to get the boot and he got a real bath later that night.

3. Evan right after his stroke. He was not allowed to have any sort of food for 48 hours to help keep brain swelling to a minimum. He was attached to that pacifier because he was so hungry. Those glasses came from a stuffed doctor bunny that he was given when he was a baby. I brought it with him to every hospital admission as a sort of good luck charm.

4. Evan cheerful and happy right before getting his stomach pierced (aka Gtube surgery). He charmed the heck out of the nurses. Harry was along for the ride too as I was about six months pregnant with him.

5. A rather cranky Evan still feeling the effects from anesthesia for a hearth cath. We had to stay overnight with this one because he had a narrow pulmonary artery ballooned and some collateral blood vessels coiled off.

6. Evan chilling after his Fontan surgery. Those straps on his chest are to the Holter monitor which was used to look at how his heart beat during a 24 hour period. He was a good boy and did not mess with the leads at all.

7. This was his last overnight stay in the hospital (Par-tay). He got readmitted after his Fontan because of issues with his pacemaker. He was given steroids which shot his INR (level of clotting factors in his blood) through the roof making it dangerous for him to do pretty much anything for fear that he could start bleeding. As you can see he was getting to be quite the hospital pro and was having fun turning the room lights on and off.