"Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day”

Today is Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day. Our family would have never known this or even payed attention to this until our heart baby came along. I read this today and decided to post it as our little way of bringing awareness to congenital heart defects:

"When thinking of heart disease the misconception that seems to persist is that heart disease is an “older person’s disease,” but, what most people do not realize is the impact of congenital heart defects on families. We hear and see so much about adult heart disease, and are rightly concerned with effective treatment, but how many people are aware of Congenital Heart Defects? Did you know that CHD is the number one birth defect and the number one cause of death from birth defects? Did you know that one out of a hundred (1/100) babies are born each year with CHD?There are 1,000,000 or more Americans alive today that were born with congenital heart defects. How serious are the heart defect problems among babies? Besides being the number one cause of death from birth defects during the first year of life, nearly twice as many children die from congenital heart defects in the United States each year as die from all forms of childhood cancers combined. Things are improving. In the 1960s and 1970s as many as 30 percent of babies died following congenital heart surgery and today nearly 95 percent of babies survive congenital heart surgery."

We have one of those 1/100 babies who is a miracle. Valentine's Day and heart awareness month takes on a whole new meaning for our family. We are so thankful to have Matthew with us during this Valentine's Day. We send our love to all of you and especially to those who have children with heart defects, we give an extra special hug to you today.

Matthew had his cardiologist appointment yesterday and received great news. His blood pressure was back to normal and it was decided that the previous high blood pressure readings were due to the steroids and his cold. His oxygen saturations were up to 78 and Dr. Hasselman said he was very comfortable with that number. Matthew was around 85 for the first few months following his second surgery, but it appears that he is leveling off in the high 70's now. Dr. Hasselman wanted to know how Matthew's energy level is and I said I think he is above average. He has more energy than his Mom that's for sure. No concerns with his oxygen saturation and we don't have to go back to the cardiologist until July!! Yeah!!

Matthew just woke up from his nap. Have a great Valentines Day. The Orwig family sends their love.