Saturday, February 11, 2006 at 9:15 PM PST
We have just gotten the echo results from Hangzhou Children's, and as we feared....little Susan was born with multiple and severe heart defects. Along with the other defects that Dr. Li thought she had, from the initial information (an atrioventricular septum defect (AVSD), mitral valve regurgitation (MI), single atrium (SA), patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), possible coarctation, and severe pulmonary hypertension (PH), both of her great vessels come from same ventricle.
Sadly, her pulmonary hypertension is already extremely high because of this, which puts her at a very high risk if the surgeons attempt an operation. However, there is a small chance that with a three part surgery, she could live a longer life. The decision on whether or not to do surgery is not ours, but the orphanage's, as they are the guardian of the child. They have decided to proceed and perform a heart cath procedure on either Tuesday or Wednesday next week. This test itself holds some risks, as they slide a small tube through a vein or artery until it reaches the heart. With this test, they can measure the pressure in the chambers and large blood vessels and the amount of blood pumped into the body with each beat. This information will give Dr. Li more information on what the surgery outcome will be for her. Once this procedure is done, we will get all of the information on baby Susan's heart exam to her orphanage and a decision will be made on whether she will have her surgery. We will update you as soon as that decision is made. If the three part surgery is done, the first phase will be a surgery to repair her pulmonary hypertension.
According to Amanda, Susan has quite a personality. She loves to smile at everyone and has a beautiful toothless grin. She has also learned how to make some new clicking sounds with her tongue and can smack her lips.
This little girl needs lots of support and prayers over the next few days.
Thank you so much for giving her a chance.
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