Friday, March 6, 2009

Drawings of Asher's Heart

Hello all, I thought I would post these drawings to help everyone understand exactly what is going on with Asher's little heart. It helps to see a visual.

This is a normal heart. The arrows show the normal flow of blood.



The gray circles show the problem areas. The lower circles show the two holes in his heart. The top circle shows where the Aorta did not connect to feed blood to his lower body. The "Ductus" is the bypass which was open while he was in the womb, since he did not need to use his lungs to oxygenate his blood...momma was doing that for him. The ductus stayed open until the third day, which is when it closes in most babies. When Asher's ductus closed, there was no normal alternate route for the blood to travel to his organs through and he almost died. The drugs they have him on are working to temporarily re-open the ductus and once again allow blood to reach his lower half until they are able to perform the surgery.

I have had two doctors and a nurse tell me that this type of heart problem wouldn't even have been caught with the standard ultrasound, even if we would have had one. His heart rate was always strong and there was no indication, other than some quick breathing, that anything was wrong. We had our pediatrician check him out the day before he crashed and he was deemed a healthy little boy. This is just one of those things that you really don't know about UNTIL it happens, and when it does you pray that you are in the right place at the right time to save him. I thank God that we were close enough to Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital to get him there in time. Arnold Palmer is ranked the 24th hospital in the country for it's doctors and available care. How blessed we are to live 15 minutes away!!!

I hope these pictures bring some clarity...and help to focus prayer for our little boy! Thank you for your prayers and support!!!
Erika

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Matt and Erika! Ken and I are really praying for Asher and you guys! We are believing with you right now!! love you guys! Ken and Lisa

Anonymous said...

Our prayers are with you and your family that all will be good. God is with you and that beautiful little boy...
God bless you

Domenech family

Dixiemom7 said...

The drawings did help and gave me something to show the kids so they understand what we're praying about. Thank you. We continue lifting Asher up in prayer every day. We love you.
-Canuso Family