The Next Stage

The doctors has decided that it would be more beneficial for Jasper to have his next surgery sooner than later. The date is set and he will have it April 3rd. This is one of the big surgeries and it will make our lives a little easier. We wont have to worry about how much blood is going to his lungs or body because they can control it better than his shunt does now.

The Surgery is called The Glen and this is a description : the goal with the Glenn shunt is to bypass cardiac circulation and allow some blood to get to the lungs for oxygenation, without overworking a weakened or tiny ventricle. This is achieved by taking the super vena cava, which is returning blood to the heart for transit to the lungs, and hooking it directly to the right pulmonary artery. Such a move creates passive blood flow to the lungs, completely bypassing the heart. The Glenn is considered palliation because it doesn’t fix the small ventricle problem, though it may address it for a few years. Additionally, the surgery is often part of the staging that leads to a more successful palliative surgery called the Fontan. If all goes well when Jasper is 3 he will get the last surgery which is the Fontan and he will be done with any surgeries.

We pray everyday for our baby boy and we ask for prayers from you. We know God is with him but it is still scary. Adding a couple of links to check out if you wanted more info.

Mommy loves you baby boy

Tricuspid Atresia
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002100/

Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome
http://chd-uk.health.officelive.com/hypoplasticrightheartsyndrome.aspx

Glenn Shunt
 http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-glenn-shunt.htm

To Help our Boy
https://www.wepay.com/donations/108761

Update on Jasper

Jasper is 3 months old now and doing great. He found his hands so he has them in his mouth constantly. He can hold his head up all by himself and is starting to roll over, or at least he is attempting. He is a full 11 pounds now almost double than he was at birth.

He went in on Friday March 9th to have a  Cardiac catheterization done (involves passing a thin flexible tube (catheter) into the right or left side of the heart, usually from the groin or the arm) he did good with the procedure and it only took them about a hour. After wards in the NICU he was not a happy baby. He was crying a lot and in a lot of pain. I held him trying to get him to fall a sleep but the pain was just to much. They gave him morphine and that seemed to help after 20 min. He finally fell a sleep. Me and my husband went back home and Jasper stayed the night. We went to pick him up today and we couldn't bring him home because he has a rough night. His oxygen saturation wasn't high enough and through out the night they has to give him a blood transfusion. They where able to stop all the medication he was on and the transfusion helped getting his oxygen level back up. So they are keeping him one more night to make sure he is ok and then he can finally come home tomorrow.

I hate leaving him there all alone in that big room. I couldn't stop crying and I just want my baby back. But I know God is keeping an eye on him but I would feel a lot better when he is home. I miss him, feels like a part of me is missing.

Baby Jasper

This is the story of a brave little boy over coming great obstacles. We hope that his story would help and inspire family and friends and all the other brave boys and girls that are sick and need a little encouragement. 

 Our Journey began August 2011, I was 22 weeks pregnant and at the ultra sound to find out the sex of our baby we got a little extra news. I was told that there was something wrong with my son's heart but that I would have to go to a high risk OBGYN for a level 2 ultra sound so that they could see his heart more clearly. I was devastated and I must have cried for a few days straight. The day I went to the ultra sound to find out what was wrong with his heart was one of the scariest moments of my life. We found out that he has Tricuspid atresia (which is where the tricuspid heart valve is missing)  and that caused an underlining problem called Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome (Where the right ventricle of the heart fails to grow and develop appropriately)

I was given the option to terminate my pregnancy but it was a option that I wouldn't choose. I saw his face, picked out his name and started his baby room. He was already my everything and nothing would change that. The only thing that made this a little better was that the doctor told me that there was nothing I did or could have done to prevent this. It was mother nature that messed up. The next couple of months was just me going to a lot of doctor appointment making sure that he was growing and that there wasn't anything else wrong.

December 8,2011 was the best day of my life I welcomed my 5 pound 14 ounces baby boy into the world. I got to hold him for a couple of minutes before they had to take him to the NICU. They where hoping that he wouldn't need the first part of the three part surgery but after a couple of days it was decided that he needed it so that we could wait till he is older for the second part. So when my little fighter was 4 days old he had is first open heart surgery to place a BT shunt in his heart to help enough blood to get to his lungs. He did great in the operating room and he healed so beautifully. After a month in the cardiac NICU he was finally well enough to come home.

He has been home for two months and his three month birthday is coming up soon. We are preparing for his second surgery and then when he is 3 years old we will have his last surgery and we can begin his journey of a happy healthy life. It is amazing that a person so little can be such a little fighter.

Our Little Family

Hi

I am AnneMarie and I am married to Bobby. We recently had our bundle of joy, baby boy Jasper. A couple of months before we had him we adopted our first boy a puppy Jake. We are a small little family but one of the best. My husband works a lot and I am a stay at home mom for now until Jasper gets better. Just a little intro to our family and I will be writing more very soon.