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 10 Waiting Until Tomorrow
The doctors decided that they want me to get rid of some more fluid still. So, they will not try to take me off Ecmo until tomorrow. Everyone was praying today would be the day, so now everyone will have to pray tomorrow will be the day. My mommy and daddy are praying very hard because they want me off of Ecmo. I have been stable and doing well, so pray that continues. Mommy and daddy might not be able to handle anymore scares. Today my sissy's went back to Montana. They need prayers for a safe trip home and prayers for comfort while mommy and daddy are away. I love my sissy's and cannot wait to be able to play with them again. The Lord is giving me strength and I know soon this will pass and I will be able to go home.
Please remember to say a prayer for me.
Love, Drew and Family
5 comments:
Dear Great Grandbaby Andrew
We are all praying for you and your
sissys , my great grand daughters,
and their safe journey home. Now
we want you completely well so you
can be home with them. God Bless
you little sweetheart. God Keep
you in the Palm of His Hand. Jesus
has healed you with His stripes.
The Holy Spirit is with you and
God's healing angels.
Love Forever,
Grandma Great
Dear Great Grandbaby Andrew
We are all praying for you and your
sissys , my great grand daughters,
and their safe journey home. Now
we want you completely well so you
can be home with them. God Bless
you little sweetheart. God Keep
you in the Palm of His Hand. Jesus
has healed you with His stripes.
The Holy Spirit is with you and
God's healing angels.
Love Forever,
Grandma Great
Dear Great Grandbaby,
I didn't mean to have two sayings
the same here but I mean it twice
as much and can't get one of them
off. We love you so much. I can
hardly wait to hold you.
Love Sweet Baby,
Grandma Great
Dear Baby Drew,
Keep up the good fight! God is great and will keep you strong. We are looking forward to your whole family being home and together. We love the pictures of your family. The blog has been a great way to keep up with you. I have been commenting all along but I don't think they have always been showing up, but know that I have been thinking of you and praying for you every day.
Love, Tim, Kelly, Tia, and Lauryn
Drew keep up the fight. I've been praying for you!!
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