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

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Day 29 Another Day in the Hospital


Today has been a good day. My "Sat's" Have done well today and the doctors seem very pleased. It is always nice to make a step in the right direction, at least that is what my mommy and daddy say. I am very excited for tomorrow because I get to eat from a bottle. It has been over a month and I can't wait, neither can mommy and daddy. This is another step in the right direction. Hopefully soon I will be ready to go home to see my sisters and the rest of my family.

Since there is not much about me I want to tell you about some of the people I have met here. First was Teagan, it was her mommy that showed us how to do the blog. She is home now after having the bi-directional Glenn procedure, this is the next surgery I will have. The last I heard she is doing well, I keep praying for her. Next I met Max. His mommy and daddy are Shannon and Sam, they are very wonderful people and have helped my mommy and daddy very much. Max was here because he got sick and his kidneys weren't working right. He is home now and his mommy and daddy still talk to my mommy and daddy. They are going to come see us soon. They have become good friends of our family. I still pray for Max. Then we met two wonderful Ladies, Baby Mia and her mom Mimi. I pray for them very often. They have had a very long and difficult journey as Mia needs a new heart. She is two days older than me and has been waiting all this time. I pray that soon she will get a heart and that God will comfort her family and be with them through this difficult time. I then met Tyler from Missoula. He hurt his head very bad. His mommy and daddy told my mommy and daddy that he is still going to be here for a long time. I pray for them, that Tyler will keep getting better and be able to go home soon. Ethan was my old roommate in the ICU and now he is down the hall from me. His mommy and daddy talk to my mommy and daddy all the time, they have become good friends. Tomorrow Ethan gets to go home and they are all very excited. I pray for Ethan that all goes well at home.

My mommy and daddy and I have met many, many wonderful families, doctors, nurses, and surgeons that we pray for all the time. I hope you will join me in praying for all the people here and all those helping these people.

Please remember to say a prayer for me.

Love, Drew and Family

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is so great that you are doing so well Drew, and that you met our friend Tyler. He is a special boy, as are you. Its nice to see you are getting to meet so many neat people, this will create friendships that will last throughout your life.

Anonymous said...

Baby Drew, there is no better day for health than one that is uneventful. And tomorrow you get to be held so close and drink a bottle, oh that will feel so good to you and your Mommy and Daddy.
We continue to pray for you little one.
Hugs and God bless,
Terri and Charles

grandma great said...

Dear little Greatgrandbaby Andrew,
By this time you should be drinking
out of your bottle and being held
by your mommy and daddy. What a
treat!
It is great that you have so many
friends in the hospital. I pray
that all goes well with each and
everyone of these precious people
and their children. I am certain
that they are very precious to our
Lord Jesus and that He is watching
over them especially the little
children "for of such is the kingdom of Heaven." There is
nothing more innocent and sweet
than children.
You continue to get well and keep
improving every day. We all want
you and your family to be together
very soon.
Love Forever,
Grandma Great

The Zinsmeister Family said...

Hi Baby Drew!
Just wanted to send our love and support from Cincinnati, Ohio! You have a lot of people praying for you here! We are so glad to hear you are doing better. Stay strong and stubborn little guy! As a mother of my own stubborn little guy my heart goes out to all of you! These journeys are tough! Keep your heads up and keep fighting! I can't wait to hear you are at home watching him grow!
All our love and prayers!
The Zinsmeister Family
Especially Nathan Z