Formerly Known as Laurel...: A funny thing.....

A friend at work sent me this....it made me laugh - which is not hard to do, but it hasn't happened in a while.

Women are Angels.
And when someone breaks our wings,
We simply continue to fly --
on a broomstick.
We are flexible like that.

What is Tetralogy of Fallot?

Lyla was born with a Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) called Tetralogy of Fallot(TOF). Her condition is also occasionally referred to as Blue Baby Syndrome, and children with TOF are sometimes called Tet Babies.

Tetralogy is a combination of 4 different heart defects and, when found together, is known as TOF. The separate defects are:
- a hole (called a Ventricular Sepal Defect, or VSD) between her two ventricles, which allows unoxygenated blood to bypass the lungs and head straight back out into her body, resulting in low blood oxygen levels and the trademark blue color.
- displacement of the Aorta
- enlarged heart muscle on one side of the heart, caused by the heart working harder than normal to pump blood through the body as a result of the VSD
- a blockage above the Pulmonary Artery, created by the enlarged heart muscle

Lyla had what is known as a "complete repair" on July 30th, 2009 at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. The VSD was patched using tissue from her pericardium. The pulmonary valve was too poorly formed to leave alone, so a "transannular patch" was made, again using tissue from her pericardium. This patch will require close observation throughout her life, as the patches leak (by definition, they always leak), and she may require a valve replacement at some point in the future.

The staff at Children's was AMAZING. Her surgeon, Dr. Vaughn Starns, is world-renown for his skill at pediatric cardio-thorasic surgery, but what they don't tell you is he is also a kind, caring man. Of course we hoped he would be nice, but, to be honest, we didn't care if he was the biggest jerk in the world, so long as he fixed her heart. It was a huge bonus to meet him and realize that he really cared about our little family.

Formerly Known as Laurel...

February 23, 2010

A funny thing.....

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What is Tetralogy of Fallot?