By Tasha Hoskins
Our son Connor David was born on April 19, 2011. I went into the hospital on April 18th after my doctors appointment I was directly admitted and scheduled for a C-Section the next morning due to medical problems from Gestational Diabetes & Preeclampsia.
Dr. Barton thought that he was going to be delivering a healthy baby, but little did he know! My first ultrasound had to be repeated, they said they couldn't see Connor's heart and that I might have to have a Fetal Echocardiogram but after they repeated it in two weeks they said everything was normal.
After that all my ultrasounds and follow ups were normal with no concerns for our son's health.
After EKG's, X-Ray's and Echocardiograms, Connor finally was diagnosed with multiple CHDs. He has Dextrocardia, VSD, ASD, Transpostion of the Great Vessels, Single Coronary Artery, Double Outlet of the Right Ventricle and Pulmonary Stenosis. He stayed in the NICU until he was 14 days old and on May 03, 2011 he was taken from the NICU to have Open Chest Surgery.
On April 19, 2011 at 10:34 A.M. I gave birth to a 8 lb 6 oz. and 20 inch long beautiful baby boy who from the looks of him appeared to be very healthy but as soon as they cut his umbilical card and started to clean him that's when our nightmare began, our handsome baby started to turn blue in color and was having problems breathing.
They called in the Pediatrician and when she started to exam Connor she realized his heart was on the wrong side and she could hear a large murmur. She called UK and then told us that Connor had to transported there for a further check-up.
I didn't get to see Connor but for a very short period of time throughout the day. Around 11;00 P.M. they let me go to the nursery to spend some time with him till UK got there to get him. About 12:00 A.M. they took him off to UK. My husband David and my mom went with him but they wouldn't let me go till the next day. I thought I was just not going to make it knowing he was that far away from me. David didn't want to upset me so he wouldn't tell me what the doctors were saying about Connor so I had no clue as to what was wrong with my son.
After EKG's, X-Ray's and Echocardiograms, Connor finally was diagnosed with multiple CHDs. He has Dextrocardia, VSD, ASD, Transpostion of the Great Vessels, Single Coronary Artery, Double Outlet of the Right Ventricle and Pulmonary Stenosis. He stayed in the NICU until he was 14 days old and on May 03, 2011 he was taken from the NICU to have Open Chest Surgery.
He was in surgery for about 3 1/2 hours, hey placed a Pulmonary Artery Band on him to control his blood flow to regulate his oxygen. After surgery he was placed in the PICU were it took him almost 28 hrs to awake form his sedation . On May 6th Connor was placed back into the NICU due to him not eating well and loosing weight, he stayed there until May 12, 2011.
Finally, after 23 days we got to bring our son home for the first time which was the scariest days of our lives. His oxygen was running in the high 70's to low 80's, his lip's, nail beds and eyelids were blue all the time. Otherwise he stayed healthy but with poor weight gain. He was in the 5th percentile on his weight until he had his second surgery on June 5, 2012.
March 20, 2012 Connor had a Cardiac Cath done to prepare a surgery plan by this time he was 11 months old and his oxygen was now running in high 40's to low 50's. The doctors were concerned about his other organs being damaged due to lack of oxygen. So they had discussed three ifferent surgery plans with David and I.
When Connor was taken in for his Open Heart Surgery on June 5, 2012 they had no clue as to which surgery they would be doing on him. After being in surgery a little over 8 hours they had repaired his Transpostion using Contegra Bovine Jugular Vein Conduit (Cow Veins) running them through the VSD & ASD closing them up the rest of the way using a small patch.
When we got to see him it was such a relief. He went to the PICU after a couple hours they had his oxygen off and breathing tube out and he was no longer struggling to breath, his oxygen was running in the 90's.
After 8 days in the hospital he came home. Then 1 month later Connor went into Congestive Heart Failure and had to stay 6 more days. He is now 2 years 5 months old.
This has been a rough road. Connor will have to have at least 1 more surgery in the future, we are not sure at what age, it just depends on how long it takes for his body to wear the veins out. We have lost many nights sleep watching our baby breathing, prayed many of prayers and shed many tears.
Connor's CHD has slowed his developemental skills some. He never crawled till he was 13 months or walked untill 16 months. He has been in Speech Therapy for 12 months and can say small words but he just can't put his words together. Connor is a very smart and special little boy who is loved so much.
Children with CHD have to struggle day to day and they have alot of sickness, they have to go through more than anyone could ever imagine which is so unfair. But I beleive it makes them stronger in life. Connor is such a tough little boy and he is just such a blessing to us, we thank God each and everyday for our wonderful son!
I hope that reading his story will help someone else on thier journey.
We are selling Team Connor Items, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/ConnorsChdJourney to like Connor's page or make a purchase.
If you would like to Donate to Team Connor go to: http://www.gofundme.com/3xydzs
Tasha, David & Connor Hoskins
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