Bryce’s Heart Story

Told by his mother Yvonne.

Diagnosis: Complex Single Ventricle; L-Transposition of Great Arteries, ASD, VSD, Tricuspid and Pulmonary Atresia
At: 18 weeks

Summer 2005... and I got this scar fighting a shark!

Bryce was born at 35 weeks with multiple congenital heart defects on Dec. 21, 2004. My husband and I found out about Bryce’s heart defects at 18 weeks gestation–during a routine ultrasound. We found out it was a boy at 20 or 21 weeks gestation. We were told that our baby would need a series of three heart surgeries to repair the defects; 1st one within a week of being born, 2nd around 4-8 months old and the 3rd after age 4 years. At first we wondered why our first born was going to have CHDs…after sometime we decided that it wasn’t our place to ask or to place blame. We had to stay positive during pregnancy (especially me) so that he had the best chance of survival after being born. We thought about not having baby showers–wondering if he would survive after being born, would his heart be able to work enough to keep him alive for the first surgery, but wanted to continue staying positive so we had the showers.

I had many, many ultrasounds(U/S) during pregnancy (probably 20 total at least), to see how Bryce was developing and to see how his heart was developing–not easy to see when in-utero. We had the best team of doctors and nurses (pediatric cardiologist who did U/S monthly until Oct. 2004 then weekly until birth; my OBs (I had 2 for awhile then all care was transferred to my OB at Cedars-Sinai where I would deliver).

July 16, 2009 day 10 post-Fontan;
went home today, all chest tubes out!

There was a team of pediatric cardiologists, nurses, staff ready when it came time for Bryce to be born. Little did we know he wanted to be born before Christmas and not closer to his due date of January 21, 2005. When Bryce was born, the pediatric cardiology team at Cedars immediately took him to the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit), my husband followed them. He was pink at birth–not much blue tint at all, which surprised the doctors and nurses. He has no other medical problems and has grown to be a healthy preschooler. He told his preschool friends that he was having heart surgery in the summer and the doctors were going to make his heart work better. All his heart surgeries have been at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, CA., by the same surgeon and many of the same nurses have been there for all three heart surgeries.

His first heart surgery (BT Shunt) at 2 days old, second heart surgery (The Glenn) at 6 1/2 months old (July 12, 2005), third heart surgery (The Fontan) was July 6, 2009 at Cedars-Sinai (age 4 1/2 years). He came home on day 10 post-Fontan; doing well recovering at home.

~Yvonne, July 2009