Adelaide is our baby girl, born on September 8, 2011. I had a happy and healthy pregnancy with her, and Brian and I were so excited to welcome her to the world when she was born! For the first several days after her birth, she was a normal and healthy baby and already displayed a very fun personality.
However, three days after she was born, the doctors at the hospital discovered that Adelaide was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. Thankfully this was discovered while we were still at the hospital, as often babies with this condition don't show any symptoms until they are already at home. If the babies go home, what usually happens is they become very sick very quickly once they get home, and a lot of times that makes the recovery and surgery process much trickier. We were very lucky that her condition was discovered while we were still at the hospital, as it wasn't diagnosed in utero and we had no idea that anything was wrong before or even immediately after she was born.
You can read more about HLHS on the Children's Memorial Hospital website. In a nutshell, Adelaide was born with a severely underdeveloped left ventricle in her heart. Babies with HLHS require a series of three surgeries to help with this issue. The first surgery, the Norwood procedure, takes place within days after birth. Adelaide had the Norwood on September 21, 2011. The second surgery, the Glenn, typically takes place between 4-6 months and the final surgery, the Fontan, usually takes place between 2-4 years of age.
After the Norwood, Adelaide initially recovered very well and then unfortunately took a few steps backward. Ultimately, her recovery stalled and her heart function declined to the point that the team of surgeons and doctors at Childrens recommended we list Adelaide for a heart transplant. Adelaide received a new heart on October 27, 2011. Thankfully, she recovered very well from her transplant and is currently thriving!
I've started this blog as a way to record our journey throughout Adelaide's surgeries, recovery process, and life at home - as well as to share our story with friends, family, and anyone who may be going through something similar. I will try to update as often as possible!
