CHD Awareness Week

Yesterday started Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week! I remember the first day that I became a heart parent. Until Marlee was diagnosed I had never even heard of CHD's! Our world was turned upside down on August 13th when a nurse came to tell us that Marlee was looking pale and having difficulty breathing! I thank God for that nurse, because I truly believe that if I had taken Marlee home that morning that I would not have necessarily known that anything was wrong and she would have most likely died! Having the neonatoligist tell us that he suspected that Marlee had a heart defect was devastating. By the time that Marlee was sent to GMH she was so sick that her kidneys, liver and other organs were beginning to shut down! We didn't even know if the doctor's would get a chance to fix her heart due to her organ failure! That night Marlee began to take a turn in the right direction and became stable enough to be sent to MUSC. In my heart, I just knew that if we could make it to MUSC that she would be ok. We stayed there for about 4 weeks and then got to make the wonderful trip home with our precious heart baby! I'm not gonna lie and tell you that everything is perfect now. Marlee still has struggles, mainly with eating and talking. She is not a big eater and would probably be okay eating one meal a day! She has gotten a little better and is starting to eat more table food.
Marlee likes: Yogurt, French Toast sticks, cheese, ham, turkey, peanut butter and jelly, crackers and can eat a whole can of Lil crunchie Zesty Tomato sticks! haha.....We are working very hard on adding to our list! Continue to pray for Marlee and all the other heart families out there as we honor our precious children!