Megan was born at 36 weeks via c section on the July 20th, 2015. She was taken to special care baby unit as she required some oxygen. Over the next few days she was struggling to feed and still needing a lot of oxygen. On day 6, the doctors shared the devastating news that Megan had a very serious congenital heart defect (CHD). Megan's doctors sent images over to a heart specialist at Glenfield in England, which is hospital that specializes in pediatric heart conditions. It was quickly determined by the heart specialist that Megan needed to be transferred to them straight away. So Megan was prepared for a transfer by ambulance. During the transfer, Megan had difficulty getting and remaining stable. Eventually she was stabilized, and they arrived at Glenfield. Megan's parents and family followed behind.
Upon arrival, her family was taken into a little room where the cardiologist explained Megan's heart defect. It was explained that Megan had infracardiac total anomalous pulmonary venous drainage (TAPVD) and she required surgery very soon in order to survive. This was certainly a lot to handle. Especially with being told this about their a 6 day old baby, who was extremely sick.
Megan had her life saving surgery at 7 days old to repair her heart. Seeing their baby girl with all the wires and tubes, and beeping machines was very hard. But they knew she was now on the road to recovery. And she really was, as Megan had a smooth recovery and was home 8 days after surgery!! Amazing right?
Once home Megan still struggled to feed and had a feeding tube at home called a nasogastric, or more commonly called an NG tube. This tube goes in the nose, past the throat and into the stomach. This tube can be used to administer medications, to give formula or blended food, and/or fluids. This tube allowed Megan to meet all her nutrition needs.
At 5 months old Megan was making a lot of grunting noises and had poor head control. She had a routine heart check up, and unfortunately Megan's pulmonary veins had started to narrow her heart was poorly again!!
Megan had developed pulmonary vein stenosis (PVS). This is a rare and life threatening condition in which there is a an abnormal thickening of the walls in the blood vessels that bring blood from the lungs back to the heart. Megan had a cardiac catheterization (CATH) procedure to try and put a stent in, but this prodedure was unsuccessful. Megan needed a second open heart surgery to open up her pulmonary vein.
At 6 months old, Megan had her second open heart surgery. Seeing her again with all the wires tubes and machines was so difficult for Megan's family. They continuously prayed for a smooth and easy recovery for their baby girl, who had already been through so much. Recovery was a little tough, and Megan's stay this time was a little longer before being transferred to our local hospital.
Since then Megan's heart has been stable, but she still has regular cardiac check-ups with her cardiologist. There is a chance Megan's pulmonary veins will narrow again as she grows, but they will deal with that if and when it happens. As for now her heart is GOOD.
Megan is currently a happy 4 year old girl who is living her best life. She still has a feeding tube to help her meet the proper nutrition goals. She is currently on G-CSF (a type of growth factor drug) injections to help her bone marrow produce more cells because she is neutropenic. Neutropenia is a condition where the body does not produce enough neutrophils, which are a type of white blood cells.
Megan fights with everything she has got. She is her mom's "little miracle"
If you would like to learn more and support Megan and her family, you can join her updates group on facebook at Megan's Journey
Tiger Who Came To Tea by Judith Kerr
The doorbell chimes just a Sophie and her mumm are about to sit down for tea. Who could it possibly be? They certainly never expected to open the door to a large, furry, stripy tiger. This book takes you on the adventure of afternoon tea with a tiger. Would the tiger eat just one sandwich? No, of course not, he ate them all. This book is fun and silly. A wonderful book to add to your book collection.
"Sophie opened the door, and there was a big, furry, stripy tiger. The tiger said, 'Excuse me, but I'm very hungry. Do you think I could have tea with you? Sophie's mumm said, "Of course come in.'"
YouTube reading of The Tiger Who Came to Tea
Age : 2 - 6
This book can be purchased for donation from our Wish List: 366 Days of Books Wish List
Please ship all books to :
Forever Got Your Six : Sammy
1300 S Watson Rd A114 PMB338
Buckeye, AZ 85326
If you would like to donate toward the purchase of books for donations please send to : Paypal.me/pumafamily and notate "Book Drive"
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