Ethans Heart

Hello out there! Just wanted to post a little bit about some news we received yesterday about our little Ethan. Last month at his 18 month appt his doctor had some concerns with how his heart sounded and referred us to the pediatric cardiologist at Legacy Emanuel in Portland. We took him to his appointment and they did an ultrasound to see what whats going on. The doctor did find that he has a small hole in the atrium. This is called ASD (Atrial Septal Defect)  This means that oxygenated blood is leaking back into the right side of the heart instead of going out to the body like its supposed to. This makes the right side grow larger and over time if not treated will put too much strain on the right side causing more problems. You can read more at 

www.mayoclinic.com/health/atrial-septal-defect/DS00628

Because it is there at Ethan's age it is unlikely to close up on its own as some in younger kids may do. There are 2 options for fixing this. One is a less invasive procedure to put a small umbrella shaped device to block the hole and the heart tissue grows around it. The other is open heart surgery, more serious and something we would like to avoid if possible. The problem right now is Ethan's small size. They usually don't do the procedure until kids are 25-30 lbs and also the 2 sides of the opening need to be big enough and strong enough for the umbrella device to hold on to. Right now Ethan is only 20 lbs and one of the sides of the opening isn't big enough or strong enough. All we can do right now is wait and pray for him to grow. We are going to go back early next year, in about 8 months, to check to see if he is big enough for the 1st procedure. They can do the open heart surgery at any age/size but definitely don't want to go that route if we don't have to. 

Ethan is a happy, energetic, sweet little guy. Thankfully he doesn't seem to be affected by this tiny hole. Its hard as a parent to hear news like this and then be told all we can do right now is wait. I know that I'm being more cautious with him and even though I'm trying not to worry its hard not too! We have wonderful family and friends who are so supportive and sending up lots of prayers for us and Ethan. We also know that God is in control and are trusting Him on this bump in life's journey. He is the ultimate Healer and our strength right now. If you think of little Ethan, please send up a prayer :) Thank you so much!