Bless Ivy's Heart: Ivy Pics

Monday, November 24, 2008

Ivy Pics

We decided to post some pics of Ivy since we haven't done very many. We also have some good news, Ivy had the IV's and pacemaker wires removed from her heart last night, so after 13 days of not holding her, we were able to. It was a very pleasant surprise.

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About Ivy

Ivy was born in November 2008 with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), and Heterotaxy. HLHS is a congenital heart defect that affects the left side of her heart. Without treatment this condition is fatal. There is a series of surgeries to alter the anatomy of her heart to make it functional to where she can lead a relatively normal life. Heterotaxy is a condition which effects other organs in her body. Her intestines were twisted, her liver is on the wrong side, and she doesn't have a spleen.

In order to save her life, Ivy had her first open-heart surgery when she was 6 days old (the Norwood Procedure), and a second emergency surgery when she was 13 days old. When she was 5 weeks old she also had a surgery on her intestines to keep them in place. She was finally released from the hospital after exactly 7 weeks.

In October of 2009 she had the second stage of open-heart surgery (the Glenn Procedure), and recovered with flying colors.

Today Ivy is a thriving two year old who brightens up our lives. She's one tough cookie, and will never go down without a fight. She's looking forward to another year without surgery, until she has her final one, anticipated to take place summer 2012.