My Story
Hello, my name is Andrew Wade Jackson. My friends call me Drew. When my mommy was 17 weeks pregnant they found out that I have a severe heart defect called an unbalanced atrioventricular septal defect. This means I have holes in the septal wall of my heart and that only 1 of my 2 ventricles is working properly. This heart defect was caused by trisomy 21 often known as Downs Syndrome.
I was born in Kalispell on July 10th and 3 hours after birth took my first plane ride to Seattle. I was there for 10 days as they monitored my heart. Then I went home to Kalispell to be with my family.
On September 10th I was set to have a pulmonary band surgery which is normally a low risk surgery. However, they were not able to do this surgery and had to begin the "Norwood" series of surgeries. My first surgery was Sept. 11th. Early in the morning I went into surgery spending 4 hours on the heart and lung by-pass machine. When it was time to come off they could not get my heart and lungs started again. I went on a life support machine called ECMO which takes the blood from the body, gives it oxygen and sends it back. This machine would be my best friend for the next 12 days and ultimately saved my life. After many days on life support, many more in the CICU, and a while on the floor I was able to return home. At home I was on oxygen full time, had a feeding tube, and many medications. On April 28th, 2009 I had my second open heart surgery, the Glenn. This surgery was not near as eventful as the first and we were able to return home after only 15 days away. At home things have gone well. I am now without oxygen and without my feeding tube. Currently my Cardiologist is watching me closly as we wait for my next open heart surgery, the Fontan. This will take place between the ages of three and five. My mommy and daddy are nervous as this surgery is more major than the last. Given the complexity of my heart, my past history of issues, and my trisomy 21 make my surgerys more difficult. However, my mommy and daddy trust in the Lord and the Power of Prayer.
August of 2011 we decided to move to Seattle to be closer to Childrens and are adjusting to life in the big city. On Tuesday July 31st I will have my next major open heart surgery. Please remember to say a prayer for me.
Thank you for visiting my site.
Here are a few statistics about my life from July 10, 2008 to July 24,2012:
Days lived at Childrens: 55
Days in ICU: 33
Days on Life Support: 17
2 Open Heart Surgery(Complete with Heart and Lung By-Pass machine)
1 Heart Surgery
3 Heart Cauterization
1 Life Flight(Kalispell to Seattle)
1 Ambulance Ride(Kalispell Hospital to Airport)
3 Trips to Seattle
1 Cardiac Arrest(Complete with CPR and Epinephrine-This saved my life)
To many Echocardiograms to count
To many trips to Cardiologist to count
To many blood transfusions to count
Please say a prayer for me.
Love, Baby Drew and Family
Day 19 The Work Begins
My doctors just came by and they are very pleased with my progress. The plan is to begin weaning some of my medication and then moving my medication to oral instead of IV drips. They also want to see how long I can go without c-pap, hoping that I will not need it. My mommy and daddy are so happy that the doctors feel I am doing so well. Every one's prayers and the strength of the Lord are helping me through. Hopefully everyone will continue to go well and that I will just get stronger and stronger.
Please remember to say a prayer for me.
Love, Drew and Family
3 comments:
Dearest greatgrandbaby Andrew,
What a joy to see you looking
like a fashion plate and getting
better with every day. You are
such a little fighter all the
way! Yes there are still some
obstacles in your path but you
seem to be beating down all of
them. God Bless You. May He
Bless your Heart and Lungs and
make you every bit whole by the
stripes of His Son, Jesus.
Eric, Ed, Michelle, Melody and I
are still praying for you every
day. Melody is praying constantly
as usual.
Love,
Grandma Great
Hey Baby Drew,
You are looking great today! I am sure your Mom and Dad are enjoying watching you get stronger and stronger every day. I'm sure they are ready to bring you home to be with your sisters. If your Mom and Dad have a chance have them give me a call I would love to talk to them. I have tried to call them a few times but I am sure they have been in with you and I don't want to bother them when they are with you.
Love you lots, and we of course are still praying,
Kelly
Baby Andrew, you just keep getting better and better. Praise the Lord.
Terri and Charles
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