Twinkle Toes

The whole family went bowling last night to celebrate a very special birthday. It was Brady's first time bowling.....and he loved it! We'll be doing this again soon!

Nate's Heart!

Nate's heart is classified as a Congenital Heart Defect - meaning it was not acquired, but rather he was born with it.

C-CTGA or L-TGA:

Early in a baby's development in utero (about 9 weeks gestation) the heart first forms in the shape of a tube. This tube bends and folds in on itself, creating the four heart chambers and the four heart valves. If the tube bends to the left instead of the right, the ventricles are reversed: the weaker, larger right ventricle grows on the heart's left side and pumps the blood to your body; and the stronger, smaller left ventricle grows on the right side of the heart and pumps blood to the lungs. Two of the heart valves "follow " the ventricles so they are also reversed: the mitral valve is on the right and the tricuspid valve is on the left. Although the two heart valves and the two great arteries (the pulmonary artery and the aorta) are transposed or exit from the "wrong" ventricle, the blood flows to the correct place because the ventricles are also reversed. That is why this heart defect is called "corrected" transposition.

That's the anatomy in a nutshell.... a very short and concise nutshell. I won't get into all the implications of leaky valves, and the 'electrical system' this time. Don't want your eyes to start glazing over! Too much information can lead to confusion...I speak from experience! It takes a bit to fully understand it!

Ready for a quiz now?!?

Your Heart!

To understand CCTGA, it helps to firstunderstand how a normal heart works. Here is your assignment forthe day. Get to know your heart and understand it. There *may* be a quiz!!!!

I'll be back later tonight with a description of Nate's heart.

A normal heart is

divided into two sides. The right side
pumps blood from the body into the lungs. The left side
pumps the blood from the lungs out to the body. Each
side has an atrium and a ventricle. The atrium acts like a
“waiting room” for the blood. The ventricle does the hard
work of pushing the blood out to the lungs or body. At
the entrance and exit from each ventricle is a valve, which
acts like a door. These valves allow the ventricle to fill
with blood from one side, and then push it out the other.

Each ventricle and valve is designed to do its specific job.
The right ventricle is designed to give the blood a gentle
push to send it to the lungs. It is bigger than the left ventricle
and does not have as much muscle. The left ventricle
is designed to give the blood a strong push out to the
body. It has less space inside because its thick walls take
up more space. The valve between the left atrium and
ventricle, the mitral valve, is the body’s strongest valve.
It is designed to stay shut against the strong push of the
blood out to the body.

It's Heart Month!

Good Morning!

And it is a good morning. I'm sure you've had those mornings, too, when you're actually really thankful to wake up from a crazy, seemingly 'real life' dream. It usually takes a few moments to adjust to what is actually real, and remove yourself from the circumstances that you thought you were just in.....or am I the only one?

Anyway, I was happy to wake up to realize we were in actuality NOT preparing both Nate and Brady for surgery in an unknown hospital!

So, it's Heart Month! Yes, February is the month of love and valentines, cupids and chocolates, love notes and romantic dates (ha ha, maybe for some of you :)), but it's also the month that we devote to Hearts....and to the world of Congenital Heart Defects. Through out the month, I'll share some info about CHD, and hopefully some tips on Healthy Heart Living.

For example, did you know:

• One to three of every 100 Canadian children are born with one or more types of CHD's.

• More than 50% of all children born with congenital heart defect will require at least one invasive surgery in their lifetime.

• There are more than 40 different types of congenital heart defects. Little is known about the cause of most of them. There is no known prevention or cure for any of them.

• In the United States, twice as many children die from congenital heart defects each year than from all forms of childhood cancer combined.

It's been a while!

I guess it's time! Time to crawl out from the wood work and get back here!

Lots has been going on - and yet at the same time, if feels like nothing has changed too much!

On the very positive side, the boys have been totally healthy, and mostly happy(!) since Christmas. Their health, in itself, is such a huge blessing and relief. Nate continues to emerge from his protective shell, and is becoming more of the boy that we've missed. His vocabulary has taken off, which makes him much easier to understand and gives him the opportunity to communicate so much better with us. His comfort level with other people has also done a 180 degree change. He talks to people, happily goes to Sunday School and actually stays for the whole time without one of us in the room (this is HUGE!). Naps are hit and miss with him, but it's to be expected as Brady was also done with naps at 2 1/2 years old. As a whole, his nights are improving, he usually ends up spending at least half the night with me (but at least we both can sleep!).

I, too, feel like I've finally come back to the person I want to be. January left me feeling rather empty inside, with nothing much to give. It was more than just winter cabin fever; planning a winter holiday or a fun renovation was not what was needed to spark me on. I think I knew all along what I needed, and now that I'm back into doing devotions, reading my Bible and meditating on God's words, I don't feel like I'm running on "E" anymore.

Another bonus - Don and I actually went out on a date....together! Might not sound like much to you, but the last time the two of us went out, without kids, was a veeerrrrrrry long time ago. I can't even tell you when. I know we haven't taken any time to go out since coming home from Nate's surgery - and that was last March. Yikes! Isn't that ridiculous? To go over a year without any alone time with your spouse?!? So, on Saturday, we enjoyed a nice dinner together here in town. The boys were happy to go to Grandma and Grandpa's!

I also wanted to share a link with you. No one is immune to the pain or suffering that this life brings. And it seems that in the last few weeks, there have too many people that I know and love that have lost, are suffering or are dealing with hard circumstances. Last week, I listened to a meaningful message shared by Matt Hammitt. He talks about Pain and Purpose. How God uses this pain to draw us to Him....to realize that we can not put hope in the things of this world, but need to look to him. I found the words God gave him so encouraging. Take some time to listen. Just click here, and go down to the bottom of the post. He has a link to the message he gave at a church called The Grove.

2010.....we'll remember you!

Welcome to 2011! Things are getting back to normal here. I had a brief flu episode after Christmas, combined with being totally out of routine with no work or school after Christmas, has led to an absence here!

What a year we had in 2010! So many memories and good times! Sure, there were some pretty significant memories that weren't the happiest, but God brought us through those times, so here we sit, ready for what this new year has for us!

If you've got 10 seconds, you can watch some excitement Brady displayed on Christmas Eve, upon unwrapping a pretty fantastic Lego set from his Grandma and Grandpa!