Written by Brody's Mom:
We were so excited to hear we were having our 2nd baby! At the 20 week ultrasound most couples are excited to learn the sex of their child, we wanted it to be a surprise for the birth that would make the journey that much more thrilling. However to our surprise at the ultrasound appointment there was something we would find out. Our ultrasound technician reviewed the pictures with our OBGYN and together they agreed that there was something wrong with our unborn child's heart. They sent us to a specialist 3 hours away (in Pensacola), they did an ECHO on our unborn baby's heart and determined him to have EFE (Endocardial fibroelastosis), they wanted us to be prepared for the baby's birth at a specialized hospital. They gave us two options, but really rathered us to go to All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg.. which we obliged. We met with all the staff there and they did a very thorough walk through of their facilities, there abundant knowledge and eagerness upon friendliness really made us feel comfortable in a very uncomfortable situation. After we accepted they did their own ECHO and confirmed the EFE, along with HLHS (Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome). Now we were hit with a critical congenital heart defect and just unsure of what would be our future, and our unborn child's. The hospital staff (upon their requirements) gave us three options, 1. Terminate the pregnancy. 2. Allow the child to be born and give him pain medicines to ease the pain in not being able to survive without intervention. 3. FIGHT and through a 3 stage open heart surgery process. We chose step 3, not knowing what to expect, we welcomed little Brody (our sweet little Prince) on December 6, 2012 looking like a healthy baby boy. With only a short moment to stare in our sweet son's eyes he was rushed away to a different wing in the hospital to be looked after. At a mere 5 days old he had his first open heart surgery, and successfully had a "Norwood" operation. Unfortunately a few days later his body formed a clot in his heart which he was rushed into an emergency heart cath, which thankfully broke free his clot and avoided any additional open heart surgery. We were sent home a few days after a month of being in the hospital recovering from the Norwood, only to return at 6 months of age to receive a "Glenn" open heart surgery, he went in and had his heart cath the day before his surgery and all looked clear to continue, and the next day he had a successful Glenn procedure. Our little boy has one more surgery to look forward to in the next few years which is the "Fontan", but working with our current cardiologists and our surgeon we are hopeful for a different surgery a "bi-vent repair" which will allow him to have a more like normal working heart, using both ventricles as a normal heart would, instead of having a single ventricle working heart. We remain hopeful, and await what the future holds for him. Although we have seen developmental delays (crawling, walking, eating etc..) in comparison to normal kids, he for his particular condition is seemingly doing very well. We couldn't be more proud of him, and each day he shows us something new. We are truly blessed, and are so very happy to see how very strong our sweet little Brody Born A Heart Hero is!
We were so excited to hear we were having our 2nd baby! At the 20 week ultrasound most couples are excited to learn the sex of their child, we wanted it to be a surprise for the birth that would make the journey that much more thrilling. However to our surprise at the ultrasound appointment there was something we would find out. Our ultrasound technician reviewed the pictures with our OBGYN and together they agreed that there was something wrong with our unborn child's heart. They sent us to a specialist 3 hours away (in Pensacola), they did an ECHO on our unborn baby's heart and determined him to have EFE (Endocardial fibroelastosis), they wanted us to be prepared for the baby's birth at a specialized hospital. They gave us two options, but really rathered us to go to All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg.. which we obliged. We met with all the staff there and they did a very thorough walk through of their facilities, there abundant knowledge and eagerness upon friendliness really made us feel comfortable in a very uncomfortable situation. After we accepted they did their own ECHO and confirmed the EFE, along with HLHS (Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome). Now we were hit with a critical congenital heart defect and just unsure of what would be our future, and our unborn child's. The hospital staff (upon their requirements) gave us three options, 1. Terminate the pregnancy. 2. Allow the child to be born and give him pain medicines to ease the pain in not being able to survive without intervention. 3. FIGHT and through a 3 stage open heart surgery process. We chose step 3, not knowing what to expect, we welcomed little Brody (our sweet little Prince) on December 6, 2012 looking like a healthy baby boy. With only a short moment to stare in our sweet son's eyes he was rushed away to a different wing in the hospital to be looked after. At a mere 5 days old he had his first open heart surgery, and successfully had a "Norwood" operation. Unfortunately a few days later his body formed a clot in his heart which he was rushed into an emergency heart cath, which thankfully broke free his clot and avoided any additional open heart surgery. We were sent home a few days after a month of being in the hospital recovering from the Norwood, only to return at 6 months of age to receive a "Glenn" open heart surgery, he went in and had his heart cath the day before his surgery and all looked clear to continue, and the next day he had a successful Glenn procedure. Our little boy has one more surgery to look forward to in the next few years which is the "Fontan", but working with our current cardiologists and our surgeon we are hopeful for a different surgery a "bi-vent repair" which will allow him to have a more like normal working heart, using both ventricles as a normal heart would, instead of having a single ventricle working heart. We remain hopeful, and await what the future holds for him. Although we have seen developmental delays (crawling, walking, eating etc..) in comparison to normal kids, he for his particular condition is seemingly doing very well. We couldn't be more proud of him, and each day he shows us something new. We are truly blessed, and are so very happy to see how very strong our sweet little Brody Born A Heart Hero is!