Little Miss Darcie Do's Heart.

We started to notice Darcie sounded congested all the time when she was a month old. She would gag when eating because of the fluid in her nose and throat. We also noticed her breathing seemed labored and she had a spot on her chest where it pulled in on the left side. She seemed to have poor circulation and her hands and feet would turn bluish and her whole body would get mottled looking.   


At her 2 months doctor visit we asked him to check her heart. He said he could hear a murmur and sent us to the hospital for an echo-cardiogram. They found a hole in her heart and sent us to Children's hospital in Oklahoma City to see a pediatric cardiologist. 

                         Darcie getting an EKG done. She likes for daddy to hold her hand.


Darcie had an EKG done then the cardiologist told us Darcie had a very large hole (8mm) called an inlet ventral septal defect. It was located between the aortic and pulmonary valves so it was hidden and harder to detect. She would need to have open heart surgery to patch the hole.  She is too small for surgery so they want to wait and give her a chance to grow a bit but they can't wait too long because it will cause more damage to her heart. They told us to come back in 2 weeks for another check. They want to monitor her closely. She now weighs 6 pounds. They are hoping to wait 3 months for surgery. 


This is what I have feared all along. Heart issues scare me. I don't want to have to turn my baby over to be cut open. The outcome for this type of surgery is generally very successful. Darcie is not in any pain and is a very happy baby. So we are all focusing on staying calm, strong and ready for what ever happens. 


Here is a slideshow I did of Darcie's first two months:

Create a photo slideshow