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 30 How many Pokes can a Boy Get
To answer the above question, it would be 6. That is how many pokes it took to get my new IV in. So today I had 3 X-Rays, a good nose suctioning, 6 IV pokes, and a sponge bath. Other than that the doctors are pleased with how I have been doing and they gave my mommy and daddy some rough guidelines that I will have to meet in order to go home. First and foremost will be to keep my oxygen saturation's stable. Second will be to get rid of the fluid on my right lung. Third, to do well on my feeds. Finally will be to have a good schedule for my medication weans. When they feel that I have all these under control it will be time for the big trip home. We are all hoping this will be sooner than later. My sissy's miss me and my mommy and daddy very much. It makes me sad to know they are sad. Hopefully soon I can give them hugs.
Please remember to say a prayer for me.
Love, Drew and Family
2 comments:
Dear Little Greatgrandbaby Andrew,
It was so great to see a picture of
you in mommys arms and I bet you
thought it was great too, you look
so contented. Hopefully soon and
very soon you can return home at
lest before winter sets in.
You are always in our prayers,
Love forever,
Grandma Great
we're praying for you, drew!
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