Watch me Grow

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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

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Day 20 On The Floor




Wow, I finally made it to the floor after 20 days in the ICU. My mommy and daddy are so very excited. This means that the doctors feel I am out of the danger zone and no longer listed in "critical" condition. I would like to thank all the nice doctors and nurses who helped me during my stay. There were several who actually aided in saving my life on more than one occasion. My mommy and daddy are so grateful to have such an amazing team working round the clock to keep me here with them. I hope you enjoy the pictures of me in my new room. It is a nice big room and I get it all to myself. Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers, they have not only helped give me strength, but have also helped my mommy and daddy through these difficult times.
Please remember to say a prayer for me.

Love, Drew and Family
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Day 20 Movin on Up

Today is a big day for me. The doctors have decided to move me to the floor. My mommy and daddy are so very excited. I have not used c-pap for over a day and I seem to be doing well. Today they did a small wean on my morphine to see how I do. Hopefully soon I will be able to see my sissy's again, they miss me very much. As soon as I am in my new room I will post some pic's for everyone.

Please remember to say a prayer for me.

Love, Drew and Family.
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Monday, September 29, 2008

Day 19 More Snuggle Time




Today has been another good day. I am still making progress in the right direction. My c-pap hasn't been used since 8:35am and my numbers are looking good. Most of my medicines are now on orally and they are working my feeds up. The doctors are pleased with my progress which makes my mommy and daddy very happy.

I have been on my morphine and adavant for 19 days now, so it could take some time to wean me down without me going into withdrawls. So I am making steps in the right direction. Hopefully things will continue to move forward and I can see my sissy's again soon.

Please remember to say a prayer for me.

Love, Drew and Family
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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
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Sunday, September 28, 2008

Day 18 Sleepy Boy

Today I have slept most of the day. Both my mommy and my daddy got to hold me today. It is such a great feeling to be held by my mommy and daddy and I think they enjoy it as much as I do. I am still having to use my c-pap machine to help with my breathing. They doing four hours on and then four hours off. This will help me build up my lung strength and get used to working on my own.

Please remember to say a prayer for me.

Love, Drew and Family
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Day 18 What a face




Today has been another good day. I have been off the c-pap for about 3 hours and am doing well. Hopefully I won't need it anymore as that is a lot of stuff attached to my little face. My mommy and daddy took some photos of me with nothing on my face and just with my oxygen. Once I am done with c-pap then they will will start working on my medicines. This will take some time because I have been on the pain killers for so long. They have to go very slow or I will have withdrawls. I hope you like my pictures, it has been a long time since anyone has really got to see my little face.

Please remember to say a prayer for me.

Love, Drew and Family
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Saturday, September 27, 2008

Day 17 Daddy's Turn




Today has been great! First my mommy got to hold me and then my daddy. It has been over two weeks and it felt so good to be held. Due to the breathing tube I do not have my voice back yet, but in a couple days they should be able to hear all my sounds. The doctors don't plan on doing much today. It sounds like tomorrow they will start weaning my medicines and hopefully in a few days I will be off the c-pap.

Thank you for all the prayers they are helping! The strength of the Lord is helping me through and hopefully soon I will be home in Kalispell with my sissy's.

Please remember to say a prayer for me.

Love, Drew and Family
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