Some Assembly Required

Feb 20th 2017 I became a Heart Mom.

Two weeks prior I had my anatomy ultrasound which told me.....dun dun duh dunnn....we are having a BOY!!! We were so excited, however the little stinker would not let the ultrasound tech see his heart. Normally this is no big deal so we scheduled another ultrasound for 2 weeks out. I woke up and got ready like any other normal day and went to my appointment. Usually I brave these on my own with Charlie and this day was no different. We went in to the ultrasound room and the tech right away saw the heart, " Perfect!" she said, "just what I need." Then she began to go over and over and over the heart. When she finished I asked (like i always do), "Does everything look ok?" Except this time she responded with, "They will go over everything with you in the other room."

It was at this moment I realized something was up. After patiently waiting in the other room I heard footsteps and whispering (which was also unusual), the Midwife with sullen eyes walked in skipping the "Hi how are you" portion of the conversation she jumped right into it. The 15 words that echoed in my ears for the next week,

 "I'm so sorry, it looks like there might be something wrong with the babies heart."

The strangest feeling of peace and trust in God came over me. It was as if I had an out-of-body experience. I calmly said ok. I didn't panic or seem concerned at all. I didn't even ask a single question. She continued, "At this point I can't really answer any questions for you but I will refer you to a specialist and I want to see you back in 2 weeks. Hopefully by then you will have seen the specialist."

After the appointment was scheduled I scooped up my, now dearest possession, Charlie and headed for home. The calm and rational feeling soon escaped me as I got out my phone to call Justin. Lets just say I lost my marbles there for a while after calling him and some close family members.

So the Dr.s appointments began. All in a matter of 3 weeks I had seen the specialist twice, the Pediatric Cardiologist, the ob/gyn twice, and scheduled more appointments with the Neonatologist and Cardiologist. WHEW!! So many words I never thought I'd need to know.

So what's the verdict?

Well...

My sweet baby boy, Jaxton Henry Hansen, has a few defects, Some more serious than others. Let me see if I can explain (remember I'm still new at this). The first thing that is not a concern at all is his Inferioir Vena Cava-which normally is the big tube that takes in all the un-oxygenated blood from the lower extremities up into the right atrium. Jaxton's does not connect to the right atrium, It goes up and connects to the Superior Vena Cava, which brings all the un-oxygenated blood from the upper body to the right atrium. Lucky for us (and him) all the blood is ultimately ending where it needs to. While this is odd there's no need to fix that. Hurray!!

Next defect he has is called Complete AV Septal Defect. This is where the wall between the Right Atrium and Left Atrium (the top half of the heart) doesn't grow, creating a big hole where the red and blue blood mixes. Also instead of 2 valves he has 1 common valve. Basically what this means is the blood is mixing and filling the lungs with too much blood. If left untreated for too long it can cause lung problems. The surgeon will monitor him and put him on medication to hold off the surgery as long as possible. We can expect to operate anywhere from 4-6 months into his little life.

Jaxton also has Left Atrial Isomerism. I'm not sure exactly what this means except that its going to cause polysplenia-meaning he will have multiple spleens and they may or may not work. His bowels may be turned as well. They will monitor all that when he comes out.

Lastly Jaxton's aorta is measuring too small. This is the Artery that sends all the newly oxygenated blood from the Left Ventricle to the rest of the body. This is the most serious and dangerous problem at this point requiring immediate and multiple surgeries. Our plan for this is to re-ultrasound in 6 weeks and measure it again then plan from there.We are praying for his aorta to grow so we can avoid all of that. For sure we can expect at least one open heart surgery.

So what does a young Mom do with all of this information? First I cried. Then that overwhelming sense of peace came over me again. When Nephi (a prophet from the Book of Mormon) was asked to go get the gold plates from the wicked King and later to build a boat with no tools or knowledge how, he didn't say "I wonder if I will be able to handle that?" He didn't say "why me?" He didn't say "that's too much to ask."  He simply responded with, "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded me."

So to this call from God to bring this special baby into the world I say, I will go and do what God needs me to do. I will be his strength until Jaxton has his own. I will be his voice when he can't speak. I will accept whatever challenges come my way and I will not call my son a trial. He is a blessing and I can't wait to see where this journey takes my family and me.

Baby Jaxton coming at ya June 28th(ish), 2017.
p.s. SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED