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Brady’s Story:
Brady's Story:
Our sweet boy, Brady Lukas, was born on 2/26/15. As far as we knew he was a healthy 7lb 8 oz, 20 inch long, little pumpkin, who passed his "going home" tests with flying colors.
I want to preface by saying that hindsight is always 20/20. So my description of the events leading to Brady's hospitalization and surgery include what to some may seem not red-flag symptoms. However, when put all together, after the fact, all signs point ultimately to his congenital heart defect.
Red flag #1- When Brady was born we immediately noticed that his feet were very blue. I asked every nurse and doctor, to which they all had the same answer: Some babies take longer than others to get full blood flow to their lower extremities. We accepted this answer being that Brady passed all of his discharge tests with flying colors.
So, on 2/27/15 we brought our little bundle home. I was having success with breast feeding and all was going according to my hopes.
Around a week in we noticed a few changes in our "little bear". First, he was sleeping constantly. Newborns sleep on average 18-21 hours a day. Brady was sleeping 23+ hours and was next to impossible to wake up for feedings. He also slept soundly through diaper changes.
Slowly over the course of the next few days we noticed a decrease in his appetite. Where he started out drinking 2 oz every two hours, he was then drinking only 1/2 an oz every 3-4 hours. He was just too exhausted to eat. On day 11 I had to stop breast feeding due to breast complications. So, that evening my husband and I decided we would begin giving Brady the same formula his older brothers had been on, Similac, The night of March 9th I woke Brady on three occasions to attempt to feed him, with very little success.
Early morning on March 10th, our lives turned upside down. We awoke to find Brady's skin yellow, jaundice looking. His skin was cold and clammy to the touch. His temperature was only 96. His lips and all around his mouth was blue. I immediately called the pediatricians office and scheduled an appointment. Surely it was something simple, like a reaction to the formula we started him on just the day before. We'd see the doctor, get a new formula suited for our babies system and go home well and happy, right?....
Wrong. The minute the nurse saw Brady's skin she didn't bother doing any of the normalcies as done at every other appointment, (temperature, weight, blood pressure, etc). She walked right out of the room and called the doctor in stat. Upon examination and listening to Brady's heart beat the doctor knew our sweet 12- day- old baby was experiencing heart failure. The tell tale sign was the "galloping" she was hearing in his chest. Heart failure!! WHAT?!?!?! Wasn't he just having a reaction to the formula we chose???
From that point on much of the events are a blur. The next thing I knew I was strapped down to an ambulance gurney holding my naked baby who was hooked up to oxygen and struggling to breathe. We were rushed to Landsdowne Hospital, in Ashburn, Va. It was there that the initial tests were run. His x-ray results showed a very enlarged heart. Where a healthy baby would have had even blood pressures in all extremities, Brady's all differed greatly from each other. This prompted the doctors to transfer him to Fairfax Hospital, where the best of the best heart teams are located.
As soon as we arrived at Fairfax, Brady was greeted by his future BFF, his cardiologist, crib side. She immediately performed an echocardiogram to determine the cause of heart failure. Within just a few short moments she discovered that Brady had a congenital heart defect known as an Aortic Coarctation. In simple terms, he had a kink in his aorta, which was preventing proper blood flow, especially to his lower half, (remember his blue feet at birth?) The only way to fix the defect would be to call upon the surgical team to go in to Brady's chest, cut out the portion of aorta that was kinked, then reattach the two ends. Simple enough, right? Not quite. Our sweet little bear was so sick. He was going to need several days on a slew of medications to get him stronger and prepare his body for surgery.
The next three days were the longest of my life. I sat watching my 7 lb angel be poked, prodded, and hooked up to an absurd amount of medications. I cried constantly, to the point I had no tears left. My husband and I were, and are, so lucky to have both of our parents and siblings close by. Their love and support kept us strong and positive. As word spread through the families of Brady's condition, prayers spread clear across the country for him. Masses were being said in his name, prayer candles lit, and positive vibes sent from all angles. God was most certainly with us!
On March 13th, Brady went in to surgery. Everything went well. I thank God every single day for the team that saved our little bears life. The surgeon showed us pictures of the obstruction on Brady's aorta. It is amazing that he was getting any blood flow at all. My husband and I were praised by every hospital staff member for our quick reaction and for getting him to the doctor when we did. Had we waited even an hour more Brady's organs would have begun to shut down.
Post surgery healing will be detailed through picture posts on this page. I am eager to share the progression from a very sick baby to a happy, healthy and PINK boy!
Once we were back home and I had time to process everything we'd been through I decided I wanted desperately to help other families who would go through what we just experienced. If nothing else, to offer support, to share our story, to give hope, and prayers, and love to other mommies and daddy's who's lives would be flipped upside down.
Faith, Hope, and Love; these three things are what got me through this. The power of prayer is a miraculous thing. God is good, and may he bless all the little broken hearts in need of fixing!
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