CH…What? Trenton’s Story

A year ago during CHD Awareness week I was not unlike alot of people. I had no idea what CHD was, what it stood for, how it effected children or families. Everything about that changed, and actually everything about my entire life changed on St. Patricks Day 2009. That day, my son Trenton was born. He was my third child. He was born shortly after noon that day.  And that evening while others were out drinking green beer and having fun oblivious to the world of CHD I was introduced to it. Trenton was born with Down Syndrome. We found that out in the delivery room. So seeing that he was at high risk of having a CHD and was not “pinking up” as they hoped, the OBGYN decided to call in a Cardiologist to do an ECHO on Trenton. That evening we found out that he had an AVSD, Bicuspid Aortic Valve and PDA. I don’t think I ever cried so hard in my life then I did that day. I kept trying to wrap my mind around everything the doctor said and not even being able to remember the “words” that AVSD stood for left me feeling completely overwhelmed and entirely lost. We went home as scheduled. Thankfully, no extra hosptial stay…no monitors….Nothing. I was so scared. Honestly scared. It was like…..Here’s your baby, yes he has a heart defect that is causing low oxygen in the blood and bluing spells but here he is…see you in a month. Take Care. I immediately started searching the net and “googling” everything I could and found that the more I googled the scarier it became and I wasn’t finding help anywhere. Then God Stepped in. And took over and as I posted on my “birth club” board I found another mom who’s son had the same CHD and had been through the same surgery Trenton was going to have to have. And I found in her the support and hope that I needed. We are one of the lucky ones. Trentons CHD was detected, repaired, and he is thriving. But the amount of children that aren’t that lucky makes me want to fight everyday for our kids. And the fact that I felt so alone and so lost lead me to charter a support group in our area. So that we could offer support and hope to others. Trenton will be a year this March. And I am so amazed at where our lives are today. I’m a Stay at home mom (vs working full time) Coordinating a non profit organization and thankful everyday for our blessing.