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It was the next morning before the doctor told me they heard a heart murmur and was transporting Amanda to children's hospital. They also told me she was very sick and might not make it to the hospital which was an hour away. I have never cried so much in my life.
She did make it to the hospital and had a catheterization the next day. She was diagnosed with tricuspid atresia, ASD, VSD. She stayed 2 weeks and was stable enough to come home for a short time.
When she was 2 months old she had the Blalock-Taussig shunt. She did very well with this and was home in less then 2 weeks.
When Amanda was almost a year old she had a central shunt. She had a lot of post-op bleeding and her heart stopped in the ICU the next morning. The staff did a great job and quickly resuscitated her. She did suffer some neurological damage and was blind for several days. She regained her sight completely.
Amanda then had five years of good health and happiness. She had her Fontan in 1993. She did very well during the procedure. The next morning she had seizures and had to be put in a drug induced coma. Again the doctor's said she had a very poor prognosis. With lots of prayers she proved the doctors wrong again. When I had just about given up I asked God for a sign. I went into the ICU and the nurse was checking her pupils. She called another nurse over because one had dilated. They cautioned that it might just be a reflex but I knew it was my sign. With lots of occupational and physical therapy she again proved doctor's wrong. But most of all she has endured because of prayers, faith, and love.
She is now almost 15 years old and is doing mostly well. She has lower than expected oxygen saturation and some PVCs but the doctor's still call her Amazing Amanda.
