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 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
3 comments:
You are looking good baby Drew! We are still praying!
Terri and Charles
Dear Baby Drew,
You look great! I can't wait to see you again.
See you soon!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love,
Tia
Wow!! I hadn't checked the blog in a few days and am thrilled to see how fast he is recovering! Although the floor can be a bit of a shock after all the one on one care in the ICU- its so nice that you guys can cuddle and love on your little guy again!He looks great! Hang in there, sounds like you'll be on your way home soon!!
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