Heart Cath: Aortic Stent
by “Oh! They just put a stent in his aorta and ballooned the stent he already had in his left pulmonary artery – but everything is great!” Just. Everything is great. Like it’s no big deal.
Category: Special Needs Parenting
CHDs and an Increased Risk of Other Health Concerns
Nearly 60% of children with a CHD have special healthcare needs in addition to their heart concerns, compared to 20% of children without. Source CDC …
It’s Normal to Need Help
There is no award that you’ll get for being able to say “I’m a parent of a child with a CHD and I never wanted or needed any help”
Causes of CHDs
Certain genetic conditions increase the risk of having a congenital heart defect. So far Down syndrome and other types of trisomies, Turner syndrome, and 22q11.2 …
Adults with CHDs
A lot of people ask us what the life expectancy is for AJ. It’s a weird question to be asked, and the truth is that …
When Are CHDs Found?
We did not know anything was even potentially wrong with AJ until after he was born. In fact, we all took turns holding him after …
Critical CHDs and Infant Heart Surgery
The nights before and the mornings of my son’s open-heart surgeries are deeply engrained in my mind. I spent every second I could with him, …
What is a CHD, and How Common are They?
I’m not ashamed to admit that before our son, I had no idea what CHD stood for, much less how much it would change our …
To Those Who Donate Blood, Thank You. To Those Who Don’t — Please Consider It…
The winter weather in some parts of the country coupled with cold and flu season makes it hard for the American Red Cross to maintain …