Valentines Day

Well I wanted to share what we did on Valentines day. Since it was on a Monday this year James and I decided to celebrate on Saturday the 12th. We don't have a whole lot of money this year so we decided to make each other presents. Most of the morning was doing homework cleaning and me being exiled into the computer room at Mom and Dad's (A.) house so James could make his Valentines gift. Everything took a lot longer than we thought so by the time we got home it was well after 9:00. So we exchanged gifts and then cuddled together on the couch and watched Penelope (If you haven't seen this movie you really need to. Its such a good movie). I gave James a 20 page short version of our life together so far through pictures. The great thing about it is I got this promotion from Shutterfly to get this book hardbound for Free. All I had to pay for was shipping. I was really excited and I think he really enjoyed it. Then he gave me his gift...a two tiered Ghiradellis dark chocolate Fudge cake...without the cake.

Yup that's right this whole thing is FUDGE! I snapped this picture after we already started to eat it. But he decorated it himself (Mom helped with the flowers) and said he had a lot of fun making it. Because I smelt chocolate while I was in the computer room Mom made brownies to go with dinner to cover the evidence. have to say it worked. :p Sunday I decided to make cupcakes to take into work. They were a lot of fun to make. Monday I wasn't really planning anything fun...maybe some laundry, and just clean the house up. But my friend Karen called and said she was going to surprise her hubby and take dinner to him and asked if I wanted to go. Karen is a good friend of mine and we spend at least 1 day a week hanging out. Her husband and James work together so I thought that would be way fun. So we made enchiladas and I brought more of the cupcakes and we went on out to surprise them. James though I was going to embarrass him the way another co-workers wife embarrassed him by doing a candle lit dinner thingy at work. I let him fret about it but in the end it was just the four of having dinner together...well 5 including Karen's cute little girl. Over all it was a great weekend. :0) Hope everyone had a great Valentines day!

February Birthdays

Feb 6 These cute little twin girls got to celebrate a birthday this month. Becca (left) Lizze (right) are super fun and spunky little girls. Becca is rough and tumble get right in your face and Lizze is more shy and reserved but once she warms up to you she'll cuddle and chatter all the time.



HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Feb 19

This day is was my wonderful hubbys birthday. James really is wonderful. he has such a big heart and cares for all he comes in contact with. He likes to find common ground and make friends with those he's around. He has big dreams and goals that he works hard to achieve. James loves martial arts, camping, hanging out with friends and family and just doing things. to the simpleist thing as tacking a nice relaxing drive up into the mountains to the extreme of going on a 2 week vacation to California with his family. He loves to be apart of it all. :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Feb 24

My sister in law Nikki's birthday is this month. Nikki is one of my utmost favorite peolpe EVER! I have learned so much from her and really cherish the relationship we have. She's a wonderful mother to 1 girl and 3 (soon to be 5) boys. She loves to writeand is working otwards her Bachelors degree in English. She loves spending time with her kids...pretty much doing anything with them. Shes a wonderful wife and mother.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Winner

I would like to thank everyone for your participation and support. This was a very successful year and I feel like we really were able to help spread a little more awareness. This is my 2nd year doing these little contest to help spread CHD awareness and you can pretty much guarantee that as long as I have this blog I will be continuing to spread awareness throughout the year and doing something special every February. Suggestions,comments and questions are ALWAYS welcome. Now to the moment that has you biting your nails, sweating profusely and screaming at me to just announce the winner and stop blabbing. :)

Well ok. How I chose the winner is I assigned each one of you a number then went to random.org and entered in the numbers then the computer randomly selects a number. I am so grateful to all of you for your help and support that I wish I had prizes for all of you...maybe something to think about next time. Well the winner according to random.org is....Number 1 and that is....

KARI NITZEL!!!!!

Congratulations Kari.

Again a big THANK YOU! to everyone who participated and helped make this a special and successful awareness week.

Day of Heart #14

I wanted to share a few websites that I have been searching and getting information about CHD awareness.

Congenitalheartdefects.com

tchin.org

A Day of Hearts

Perfect Broken Hearts

National Heart,Lung and Blood Institute.gov

Health.Utah.gov

Americanheart.org

Please give them a look to learn more about CHD.

Day of Heart # 13 Celebrity Spotlight

Dont forget to enter for you chance to win this beautiful necklace. All you need to do is help spread CHD awareness. See THIS post for more information. Remember you only have till midnight tonight to enter. I will be announcing the winnre tomorrow.
A lot of you may have heard of the Award winning pianist and musician Paul Cardall but did you know, Paul Cardall was born with a serious Congenital Heart Defect. Putting his faith in God and his Redeemer is what carried he and his family Through numerous open heart surgeries...including a heart transplant. HIm like many others are thriving and kicking CHD in the butt. :)

Day of Heart #12

Well another week gone and another prize to give away. Again I want to say Thank You to all for your participation. Well without further ado. I would like to announce the winner of the watch which is this weeks giveaway. And the winner is.......

Erin Cherry!

Congratulations Erin I will get the watch sent to you as soon as you can.

Don't forget everyone to enter for your chance to win the sterling silver and diamond necklace.

Day of Heart #11

Ok so in order to get this out to all of you. (cause I know that not everyone checks blogs everyday) I wanted to start the grand prize early that way everyone gets a chance. So the grand prize is pretty grand I think :) Since Feb 7-14 is the official CHD Awareness Week and what a wonderful way to say good bye to awareness week than having the last day on Valentines day. So From Now until Valentines day you have a chance to win this.....

Beautiful Sterling Silver Necklace with 18" box chain and diamonds set in the center. I told you it would be grand. :) This necklace really is beautiful.

To win this necklace, it's time to spread the love. :) Help spread CHD awareness by posting something on your blog or facebook about CHD. Then leave a comment and the link to your post here at my blog. If you don't have a blog or if you are not on facebook send out an email to me (kabby17 (at) yahoo (dot) com) as well as your friends and family telling them about CHD. This contest will end at midnight on Valentines Night. I will post the winner on the 15th. Thanks everyone and good luck.

Day of Heart # 10 Celebrity Spotlight

I wanted to share this with all of you. The bad thing is is that the video was cut a little short and I couldn't find the whole interview like I wanted. But when the Dew Tour was here last year one Utah reporter got to talk to the Olympian Shaun White about his CHD condition. YUP THAT'S RIGHT! :) Olympian Shaun White was born with Tetrology of Fallot. The same heart condition as Abby. I think it's really wonderful what he says about his parents and how great they were and how his condition has never held him back. He had two operations before he was 1 years old and look at him now. What a wonderful inspiration he is to all CHD kids.

By The Way

Oh I forgot to mention. Abby is hosting a Contest herself on her facebook page. To check out her contest please click HERE. Or go to her page on facebook. Abby's Perfect Broken Heart. Good Luck! :D

Day of Heart #9

Lots of heart defects are not detected in prenatal ultrasounds or on physical examination after birth. Sine they are the number 1 birth defect, parents should know the signs of heart defects which include rapid breathing, difficulty feeding (tiring out), blueness of lips and fingers and toes, failure to thrive, fatigue, difficulty with physical exertion, and chest pain (in older children). From Nicole Wardells Facebook post

I usually answer the questions on Friday. But I felt like this one was to important to pass up.To help spread awareness some things you can do are...

• If you know of anyone who is pregnant or trying to get pregnant talk to them about CHD and DEFINITELY tell them about the Pulse-ox test. They have to ask for this. It is not a test that is given unless asked for.

• Abby has these wonderful rubber bracelets that you can buy on her website Perfect Broken Hearts or if your on Facebook you can become a FAN of hers and ask her about them. They are a attention getting and a great way to get a conversation going about CHD.

• Talk, talk, talk, talk, TALK. I can name a few people who are probably sick of hearing about CHD from me because it comes up a lot in most our conversations. It's amazing what word of mouth does, and with the Internet the possibilities are limitless. Between Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and then Blogs, E-mail, etc. there are a lot of great ways to talk. You can share stories of heart babies you know or have heard of and get the news out there. That's why I talk a bout Abby and tell her story...well...quite a bit actually. All my close friends say they feel like the really know Abby and most haven't even met her yet.

• You can always find someone battling CHD somewhere. Whether its the actually person or the family. You can comfort them and let your community know. For those who are LDS help spread the news to your Relief Society sisters. There are also organizations out there who sponsor events during CHD awareness week (Feb 7-14) they have 5k runs and other fun activities that you could be apart of. Our mayor made Feb 7-14 officially CHD awareness week in Ogden. To help with that we can try and pull all CHD members in the community together and host a cook off or some kind of event. Again the possibilities are endless.

I have been trying to spread CHD awareness for a long time now and sometimes my efforts fall on deaf ears. It can be discouraging sometimes but this is a topic that needs to be spread so I try and not get to discouraged

Day of Heart #8 Celebrity Spotlight Part 2

The Second Part of my story is fast forwarded to Abby's 2nd open heart surgery which took place last summer (2010). Before the actual surgery Abby and her mom Nikki found out that Abby's leaky valve needed to be replaced a lot sooner than they had anticipated. they were hoping to make it into Abby's teens. But after some testing they decided to move it to early 2010. Abby and Nikki attended surgery prep classes to find out as much as they could about what Abby was going to be going through. After a few times of her surgery being pushed back due to other cases. The dreaded and much anticipated day came. James and I arrived at the Wardell house around 9:30 to help watch the boys. in all honesty I thought I was going to see a side of Abby I thought i would never see. A frightened little girl quiet with dread. But I was proved wrong. Abby was happy to see us and after giving each of us hugs she showed us a few things she was excited for. Including her new piano book The Nightmare Before Christmas. (A much beloved movie in our home.) After everything that was needed was gathered instructions on food, diapers, etc. was given and many hugs and kisses all around. Abby, Justin, Nikki, and Nona (my mother in law) were off to Primary Children's Medical Center. Abby was the second surgery of the day. James, Dad A. and I tried to settle in after they left but it was difficult. We were tending the two youngest boys Ethan and Gavin. Nate (the oldest boy) was over at a friends house. On our end was just a lot of waiting and trying to distract ourselves by playing with the boys. But the flip side I am going to again give the readers digest version of her mothers story which you can find HERE to read it directly from her. After they got to the hospital at first it was just routine stuff medical history, allergy history, weight, etc. then Abby had to change into her medical pajamas...which she thought looked like old man jammies. She walked around acting like an old man making everyone laugh. Abby's surgery was scheduled for 12:30PM. So they sat and waited. Around 12:30 a nurse came in and apologized for the wait and told them that the baby who was having the same surgery wasn't doing well and Abby's surgery was going to be moved back to 3:30PM. After waiting for so long and having not a lot to do Abby's fear turned into impatience. Nikki described it as a blessing from the Lord to have all the fear and anxiety turn into impatience to help Abby through this. the waiting continued and they were able to go to a waiting room where there were other kids waiting for their different surgeries. The played games, read books, and even found a Wii in the corner and played Mario Party to help pass the time. Around 3:15 Abby's surgeon came in. He was a blessing as well. Abby was suppose to have a different surgeon but because of a change she was able to get him. Dr. Kaza is a graduate of Harvard and came to Primary Children's Hospital from Children's Hospital Boston. He told them that he could perform this surgery without stopping Abby's heart. A huge relief for all. He explained everything that would take place with this surgery. After that he looked at Nikki and told her that he was going to take good care of Abby and treat her like his own. I can only imagine the gratitude and relief Nikki felt when he said this to her. After the surgeon left the anesthesiologist came in shortly after to talk to them as well. He came in and explained all the technical stuff that goes along with is and joked around with Abby for awhile. Then the time came. I am going to take this next part out of Nikki's story again that you can read HERE.

"With that, it was time. I have walked the hall once before. Once before with a baby in my arms, who had no understanding of what was going on. I could cry a little without worrying about scaring her. I could act nervous and anxious as we walked the hall without adding more stress upon her. This time, I think this picture says it all:

I choke back tears every time I look at it. I look at little Abby in the picture….and I see the determination and the courage in the way she holds her head high and set, in the swing in her arms, in the way she has her bear, “squeezer” clutched under her arm like she is heading for a touchdown, and in the length of her stride and the confidence in every inch of her tiny body! I don’t know many adults that would walk down this hallway and into open heart surgery like this, but Abby did! She never faltered. She showed me that their was no place for fear, only courage in the face of that fear. At the end of the hallway, we stopped at the “see you later line” and I kissed her, and told her I would see her when she woke up. She then walked over the line that separates me from her, and she marched down the hallway with her anesthesiologist and Rachelle and didn’t look back. No tears, no long “see you laters”, just pure courage."

I can remember Dad (A.) and I was sitting on Nikki and Justin's back porch watching the two little boys play in the backyard, (James was at school) when we got the call from Mom A. that she just went in. I can remember saying little prayers in my heart for the next...I cant even remember how long. Dad and I had been lightly chatting and then after that call we were both silent for a long time. Just thinking and praying.

Nikki goes on talking about how after they said their see you laters. :) they got a quick bite to eat and settled in the waiting room to wait. they got updates from Rachelle who said that Abby hopped on the table and talked and talked till the anesthesiologist put the mask on and went to sleep. Commenting on her wonderful personality. Then about an hour later a nurse came in to give another update. Abby was being prepared for the bypass machine. We all were sure just how long this surgery would take since the last time it was only suppose to be 4 to 5 hours and turned out being longer. But 4 hours later Dr. Kaza came in to tell everyone that the surgery went great. "textbook". He replaced Abby's valve with a 21" bovine and as long as the valve lasts she wont have to get a replacement, because of it's size. they waited the allotted time to be able to go see her and started heading towards the CICU. When they got there Abby was surrounded by medical staff Dr. Kaza told them that they were trying to extubate (take a tube out) her and to come back later. they waited and after being told once more to come back they waited a little longer. When they finally got to see her they found out that when they were taking the tube out it caused her lung to collapse. Other than that everything was looking great.

James, Dad (A.) and I got the call that she was out and everything was ok. We heard about her lung and that she was now in CICU. We were happy and relieved to hear that the surgery went well. But I was nervous about her lung collapsing. I didn't really know what that meant or if/how it was going to effect Abby. We were anxious to go see her, but it was going to be awhile.

Abby had a hard night, she was reacting to the morphine and because of the high flow of oxygen she kept complaining that she couldn't breath. She did get some sleep.


The second day Abby continued to battle nausea and was in a lot of pain. She was also getting horrible anxiety attacks because of it. this day was full of goods and bads. I wont tell all of them, I will leave that for when you read the story. Abby was in a lot of pain, and her back was starting to get horrible knots in them cause her even more pain. She was able to hold her SAT's in the low 90's so they were able to take out the high flow oxygen and just have her on a low flow nasal tube. They also took out her catheter and a arterial line out. the morphine continued to make her sick and caused her a lot of anxiety, and with any surgery depression was starting to set in. they had Abby move from her bed to a rocking chair that was close by to try and get her moving. Because moving helps recovery. It took her 15 min. but when she finally was able to sit down and rest the pain in her back did ease up a bit and we saw a small tiny glance to a smile.

Poor little Abby was having a hard time recovering. As an aunt there's not a whole lot that you can do. James and I helped watched the boys. I knew that was helping but I felt like it wasn't enough. I wanted to somehow ease the burden's that Nikki and Justin were feeling I wanted to wrap my arms around Abby and Nikki and try and comfort them both and help them feel better.

Day 3:
My mother in law stayed with Abby that night so Nikki was able to get some rest. When Nikki got back to the hospital they had moved Abby to a new room in the CICU and she heard that slowly the Abby we know was coming back. There was talk of moving Abby out of the CICU. But before that could happen there were a few things that needed to happen first. She needed to have an echo and have her drainage tubes removed. Just touching the tubes hurt for Abby so the thought of removing them was terrifying. Again to hear about this please read the story HERE. After the tubes were removed Abby was moved to a different room and was starting to feel better; she could also now have visitors. She got a lot of visitors and she tried to seem happy and upbeat but she was so tired and having the visitors wore her out even more.
Justin's mom Barb had the boys this day so I went to work and James went to school. I got to leave work early so we could head up to the hospital to see Abby. When we got there she was sleeping. Mom said she would want to see us so gently woke her up. She seemed so small and fragile, it was weird seeing her just lying there in a bed. cause usually shes bouncy and well...not so still and quiet. She didn't talk a whole lot and when she did it was very soft we had to strain to hear. We didn't get to stay long cause I needed to get James to work and Uncle Gordy and Kim came to say hi and there cant be more than 3 people in the room at once. So we gently kissed Abby and told her we'd come back to see her soon.

Day 4:

For the surgery Mom (A.) had made Abby her own jammies and scrubs. Abby got to change into those. There was also talk about sending Abby home. But before they could do that, Abby needed to build up a little more strength and get her lung open. They took walks down the halls which helped build Abby's strength and helped open her lung but it also wore her out. There was a telethon going on and they asked Abby if she wanted to be on the telethon. this would mean she'd get a chance to be on TV. But Abby didn't

want to... a good sign that she was really not feeling well. visitors continued to come and say hi, but Abby was just exhausted.

After work I went up to the hospital to see Abby and to see if I could help with anything. The boys were up at the hospital in the playroom. Because there was on one to watch the boys Nikki felt torn between being with Abby and watching the boys. So Dad (A.) and I decided to entertain the boys so that Nikki could get back to Abby. We found out that Hogle Zoo was hosting an after hours family day for all Primary Children s hospital patients and their families. So after we found the right people to talk to we got the tickets and Dad and I loaded up the boys and went to the zoo. It was a fun time. After we left the zoo we took the boys back to say goodnight to Nikki. Nate slept over at our house that night. But before we went back to our house we had a good idea that Abby was going to be coming home the next day and Nikki had a big surprise for Abby's home coming...the only problem was it wasn't all the way done. Because of the difficulty of moving around without exhausting herself. Nikki wanted to surprise Abby with a new room to come home to. The room was painted all it needed was to be decorated and furnished. So we spent the night moving her old room from downstairs to upstairs. We had already finished the painting the previous day and was ready to get it mostly done and set for her tomorrow. Mom (A.) was going to come by before Abby got there and finish by adding more decor.

Day 5:
Abby seemed more like herself on this day. She was smiling and joking and talking a lot more. Her lung was doing better and her SAT's were stable and doing great. She wasn't in to much pain and she was able to stand and had more energy. not as much as normal but more. So talk of discharge started. After all the precautions and paper work Abby was on her way home. She was greeted by multiple posters of welcome from friends and family and a brand new room that was covered in hearts with get well messages from her primary class members. She was excited and happy to be home. We were thrilled to have our Abby back.

I went and saw her, I think either it was the day she came home or the day after. She was just the friendly sunny Abby that we know. I gave her a welcome home gift and she sat on her bed while I sat in the rocking chair and we talked for awhile. It was so good to be with her again and see her as chattery and happy as she always is. I love my wonderful Abby and I couldn't imagine my life as an Armstrong without her. She was one of the first to lovingly welcome me into the family and was my instant friend when I first met her.

Day of Heart #7

Recognize this little guy?probably not...but if you watched the Super Bowl yesterday you probably would have recognized him as this...
His name is Max and he played the mini Darth Vader in the VW add yesterday during the super bowl. This little guy has Tetrology of Fallot just like Abby. He had to have surgery at 3 months old. then later had to have a pace maker put in. He did an interview on the Today show. You can watch the interview HERE. You also might see him on the young and the restless. To learn more about him and read his story click HERE to see the EON news article about him.

SEE FULL COMMERCIAL BELOW

Volkswagen Commercial: The Force

Day of Heart #6 This Weeks Prize

For this weeks prize all the same rules apply. For a comment it's 1 entry. A question is 2 entries. So this weeks prize is.... this create your own watch with band. The color is actual a representation of a sweet little baby named Cora who passed away because of CHD. Remember next week is the big grand prize with the special way to win it. Good Luck Everyone!

Day of Heart #5Winner

Thanks again everyone for participating this week. Don't forget to check tomorrows post for the prize for next week. The winner for this week is.....

Kari Nitzel!

Congratulations!

Day of Heart #4 Answers to Your Questions...

Thanks everyone for your questions. I am very excited about what this week has brought and I hope that next week will continue to be a success. Remember you have until Midnight Tonight to submit either a question for 2 entries or a comment for 1 entry to have your name added into a drawing for that cute little angel figurine. Also remember that even if you have entered in this week you can still enter in next weeks drawing as well, even if you were the winner. Abby, Nikki you are also invited into this, if you want to post something or enter in the drawing. Ok now on to our questions...

"Is there anything that the mother can do while the baby is in the womb to help prevent this disease?"

Well doctors still don't know exactly what causes CHD. they think heredity can play a role. They also feel that anymore with CHD is more likely to give birth to a baby with CHD. Children that have down syndrome are also most likely to have a certain type of CHD. Doctors do believe that certain things are linked to certain types of CHD. Such as smoking while pregnant, and doctors always encourage expecting mothers to follow their guideline of things they can and cant consume. But CHD is something that is not caused by the mother. It's simple a disease that Scientist are trying to figure out a cause for. (Website) They also have wonderful ultra sound technology with 3D ultrasounds that help detects a defect before the baby is born. But Not all heart defects are detected by birth or ultrasound. Mothers should ask for a pulse-oximetry (pulse-ox) test which can detect birth defects that are often missed. Ask for the test in the first 24 hours of birth. Work in underway to make pulse-ox testing mandatory. it is a non-invasive painless procedure that takes seconds to perform.

"If a child survives (like Abby) what is the likely hood that they will live a long and productive life?"

Abby's case is a little different than most tet babies (tet-tetrology of fallot). Because they had to relieve that pressure by cutting a hole, causing her valve to leak. It really depends on the case. Abby is very small for her size. (when she was 9 she could still put on some clothes that fit her when she was 3) And I think that she might be a bit smaller than average, maybe for the rest of her life. She can do things that normal kids her age can do. The only difference is she can wear out a lot faster and she needs to stop and take little breaks when doing anything to strenuous. I think it really just depends on what the defect is and how severe. There are some kids that are born with a CHD and only have maybe 2 or 3 surgery's to help correct it their whole life's. and then there are other cases where a child might need multiple surgeries throughout their life. I can say this. Abby lives each day to the fullest. She is am amazing singer and piano player, she can read at an 8th grade level (she just turned 11), and she can sit down with her Aunt Lisa and Grumpy (Dad A.) and have a serious talk with them about politics. She spreads her love and sunshine to all she comes in contact with and is definitely a thriving wonderfully ambitious little girl. Some of her goals include getting a chance to go to the Kodak Theater in Cali or Energy Solutions Arena right here in Salt Lake and trying out to be the next American Idol. She also wants to go to BYU and hopes to one day become a heart surgeon herself. I will be doing a celebrity spotlight next week about a well known athlete with Tetrology of Fallot (the same CHD condition as Abby's).

Thanks for the wonderful questions keep them up! :D

Day of Heart #3

My second half of Abby's story is taking a lot longer than what I thought and today has been a little crazy at work and I don't have a chance to do this when I get home. So here is a tidbit of information for you. Don't worry we'll have more fun facts. We still have 11 more days. :)

Did you know:

$1.2 billion is the estimated lifetime cost for US children born in a single year with one of four major heart defects (tetralogy of Fallot, transposition of the great arteries, single ventricle, truncus ...arteriosus).

To find out more please click HERE

Day of Heart #2 Celebrity Spotlight Part 1

The Celebrity Spotlight that I want to do is a local celebrity...well ok maybe a family celebrity. :) I want to share Abby's story with you. Because Nikki does a better job telling the story than I can.The full story in the words of Abby's mother can be found HERE. I am going to give you the shorter version and you can go to that website and read the full story. Which is more powerful than mine. :) The story is a long one that I will do in 2 segments.

Abigail Marie Wardell was born February of 2000 to Justin and Nicole (Nikki) Wardell. After she was born Justin and Nikki was told that Abby had a very loud heart murmur. At first they didn't think anything of it, most babies when they are born have heart murmurs that clear up on their own in a few days. But after doing a lot of testing and not seeing the murmur clear up the doctor scheduled them to go visit a pediatric cardiologist. After doing tests on little Abby and waiting for the results the cardiologist informed Justin and Nikki that Abby had Congenital Heart Defect. There are over 35 heart defects associated with CHD. Abby's is called Tetrology of Fallot which is the most common.

"Tetrology of Fallot is defined by 4 distinct heart abnormalities.

1. Ventricular Septal Defect (VDS)- This is a hole between the two bottom chambers of the heart.


2. Pulmonary stenosis-narrowing of the pulmonary artery and valve.


3. Enlarged right ventricle-this is caused by the overworking of the right side.


4. Overriding Aorta-the aortic valve has formed in the wrong location."

(information taken from Abby's Perfect Broken Heart.net)

The doctor told them that that Abby would need to have open heart surgery. Abby's first surgery was when she was only 5 months old. The surgery took place at Primary Children's Medical Center. Dr. Gregory Dirusso the Surgeon who operated on Abby is still to this day a hero in the eyes of the Armstrong/Wardell family. The day of the surgery was an emotional one for all. Again I encourage you to read Nikki's account HERE because mine cant do it justice. the surgeon told the family that the surgery was going to take 4 to 5 hours. About 5 1/2 hours into the surgery the were told that the repair went smoothly but when the took Abby off the bypass and started her heart she had extremely high blood pressure in the right ventricle and they had to stop her heart again and put her back on the bypass to try and relieve the pressure that was building. The family continued the agonizing wait and was again told that when they started Abby's heart for a 2nd time that there was still to much pressure and they had to put her on the bypass for a third time. I cant imagine how Nikki, Justin or Mom and Dad A. felt. Nikki talks about it in her story, but I still cant fathom everything it took for these 4 people who I look up to were able to go through this. After 8 hours a tired and worn out looking Dr. Dirusso came in to tell them that they fixed the pressure and her heart was functioning better than it had before the surgery. But to be able to relieve the pressure they had to cut into the pulmonary valve to relieve the stenosis. Abby's valve would leak until it was repaired. they were hoping she would be well into her teens before they needed to perform that surgery though. Abby's recovery was just as intense, with warnings of different things that could go wrong. Nikki and Justin pretty much lived at the NICU with Abby praying for her and waiting. As the days progressed Abby kept getting better and better. They were able to take her off of Oxygen and she breathed on her own. She became more alert to the people around her. They still had hard times as she continued her recovery but all was well and after a few weeks she was able to go home and start living. She wouldn't be able to do the full things that most babies and kids are able to do but her heart was improving and we all had our Abby. I wasn't able to be there for all this and to help and give support through Abby's first surgery. But her story and the amazing little person she is gives hope to myself and others. Her story is inspiring and a great way to show that we can fight and we can do our part to help spread CHD, Abby's story and the thousands more. Once again I want to ask for you help (whether minor or grand) spread awareness about CHD.

Day of Heart # 1

A lot of people don’t know what a Congenital Heart Defect is. I know I didn’t before I met my husband’s little niece Abby. So what is Congenital Heart Defect (or more commonly known CHD) and how does it affect babies?

"Congenital heart defects are problems with the heart's structure that are present at birth. These defects can involve:

• The interior walls of the heart
• The valves inside the heart
• The arteries and veins that carry blood to the heart or out to the body

"Congenital heart defects change the normal flow of blood through the heart.

There are many types of congenital heart defects. They range from simple defects with no symptoms to complex defects with severe, life-threatening symptoms." (website)

1 in every 100 babies are born with CHD...well 1 out of 100 seems pretty small right? Well I googled how many babies are born in a day.First in the U.S. I checked a few different websites but got the same answer. So, how many babies? There are 11,000! That’s in 1 day in the U.S. alone. (Website) 11 babies born in the U.S. are born with CHD. I wanted to go further than that so I googled How many babies were born every day in the world. Again I checked a few different sites and they all had roughly the same number. Approximately 490,000 babies are born throughout the world in a single day. Now if I did my math right (which I might not have) that means that approximately 4,900 babies are born throughout the world in a single day with CHD. (Website) Congenital heart defects are the most common birth defect and are the number one cause of death from birth defects during the first year of life. Nearly twice as many children die from congenital heart disease in the United States each year as die from all forms of childhood cancers combined. (Website) Please Help spread awareness with me for the next 14 days and throughout the year. So that we might be able to get the word out and help these CHD babies get the medical attention they need to mend their broken hearts.

Prize Giveaway

This weeks prize is going to be something kinda small to get the ball rolling. its a cute angel figurine. The picture above isn't the real picture it's just an example. Sorry I just forgot to take a picture of it yesterday. But I promise the real one is just as cute. :) Remember you need to leave a comment for 1 entry and a question about CHD for 2 entry's. Good Luck! :)