About Me (In My Own Words)
Lucian was born on 3/26/98...our third child. We were unaware of his congenital heart defect before birth. Upon seeing Lucian for the first time, I immediately asked "Why is he so blue?" My intuition told me something was wrong.
When Lucian was about four weeks old he was evaluated at Yale New Haven Hospital. He was found to have a congenital heart defect known as tetralogy of fallot. Lucian's heart was defective in three ways. The aorta was displaced, the pulmonary valve was insufficient and he had a hole between the lower chambers. We were told he needed open heart surgery.
The pediatric cardiologists planned to delay the surgery until Lucian was 4 months old. At 8 weeks old a cardiac catheterization was performed to check the pressures in Lucian’s heart. Lucian's body did not react well to the catheterization...and he began to experience severe cyanosis. The doctors decided to do the open heart surgery the very next day.
At exactly 8 weeks old my thirteen pound baby boy was taken to the operating room for open heart surgery. Surgery was done on a Thursday...Lucian came home the following Monday. He thrived and continued to grow steadily.
My 'baby' is now 13 years old!! He's growing like crazy...probably about 5' 6" and 130 lbs. We were recently told he needs to have his pulmonary valve replaced...another open heart surgery.
During the upcoming surgery, Lucian’s current pulmonary valve will be replaced in order to permit sufficient blood flow to his lungs. Currently Lucian becomes prematurely fatigued because of the lack of blood flow to his lungs. During his first surgery a patch was used to pull back the excessive tissue surrounding the valve thereby enabling sufficient blood flow to his lungs. As his body has grown, the patch has not…it is no longer effective and the insufficient valve needs to be replaced.
We met with the surgeon on September 2. Surgery is planned for September 14 at Yale New Haven Hospital. We look forward to September 15...and having this surgery behind us!!
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Guilford, Connecticut