Yesterday I gave you a quick run through of Isabel’s birth and what went on in the first couple of days. If you didn’t get a chance to read it check it out here. Now to continuing on with getting Isabel to Denver.
The Life Flight Team was at the hospital by 4:05 am on December 29th. It was amazing to watch them work and breakdown all the information the Gunnison nurses were providing them. They ran tests and transferred Isabel to their machines. They did great job explaining to Jen and I every thing they were doing and they were able to answer any questions we had as well. After a short time making sure Isabel was stable they were ready to head back to the airport. We were lucky that they had an extra seat on the plane for Jen because it was going to be a hard drive to Denver that night with it snowing the majority of the way and running on very little sleep. We decided that I would head back to Crested Butte and start driving to Denver the following morning. After the quick flight to Denver and a short ambulance trip Jen and Isabel arrived at The Children’s Hospital. They immediately took them to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where a team a doctors where waiting to check on Isabel. After a few test they diagnosed her with Congenital Heart Disease. Jen almost immediately called me and told me I needed to be on the next flight to Denver. During my flight to Denver Isabel had her first ECHO and they waited on me to arrive before transferring her to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU). Truth be told, I was so overwhelmed that I needed to opt for cbd vapes online just to release some stress.
Once we arrived in the CICU the doctors started her on a medicine called Prostaglandins in order to keep her Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) functioning. The PDA allows blood flow between the Aorta and Pulmonary arteries. They were very worried that if they did not keep the PDA open blood would be unable to flow to her lungs. That night one of the doctors sat down with us and showed us pictures explaining what exactly was wrong with Isabel. He told us that they suspect she has a Ventricular Septal Defect with Pulmonary Valve Atresia, also called Tetralogy of Fallot with Pulmonary Atresia, and we would need to have a Cardia Catherization in order to confirm her condition.
It was a very busy first 3 days of life for Isabel. There is still a lot more to the story so stay tuned tomorrow for more.
Before I finish up I want to thank Jen’s mom, PJ, for everything she did for us. She came into town for Christmas and the birth most likely thinking she would be helping out for a few days with Addison while we were in the hospital. I know she didn’t expect to spend more than a month in Crested Butte alone with a 3 year old. She also put up with all the crazy that I can put out while I was so stressed and didn’t let it bother her! Thank you PJ.
You are so sweet! I loved my time with Addie! You were great… Definitely not crazy! I remain amazed with you & Jen! You have been through so much!!!