~ Jacob's Heart surgeries ~
~ Jacob and his heart Problem ~
In addition to the Transposition,Jacob also had large VSD (ventrical septal defect),L-Looped Ventricals or S,L,L. ,double outlet right ventrical,unrestricted ASD,Pulmanary atresia,which means his pulmonary valve was closed at birth and he was born with dextracardia,which means that Jaocb's heart was on the right side of his chest.The detracardia did not pose as a problem in itself but with Jacobs main vessels switched, it made his heart problem a little more complex.
Jacob underwent 4 open heart surgeries and he had several heart caths,in fact I had lost count of all the heart caths that Jacob had underwent.The first Heart operation was done when Jacob was only 4 days old,without it he would not have survived.This operation consisted of putting in a BT Shunt.The second operation was also for a BT shunt.Jacob outgrew the first one so needed a bigger one.
The third open heart surgery was his major one,they reconstructed Jacob's heart and switched the two vessels that were switched and took out the BT shunt and put in a real valve.After this particular surgery Jacob did really well for at least a year or a little over.
The fourth surgery was for cardiac failure.Upon a heart cath along with an ekg it showed that Jacobs veins and main arteries were closing,causing very bad hypertension in his lungs,basically meaning almost one lung was doing most the work as the other one was getting very little blood flow and air to it.The object was to open up the veins and so this other lung could get more flow and also so Jacobs heart would not work so hard.
Unfortunately this surgery was unsuccessful and we were then told that Jacob would need a heart and lung transplant or he would not survive.Upon putting Jacob on a heart and lung transplant list I was told that Jacob had 6 months to 1 year to live without a transplant,Jacob passed away 2-3 weeks after being put on the list.
As you can tell by the picture above Jacob was a very happy little boy his strength was amazing,and he never let his heart problems get in his way.He was very outgoing and energetic,many people were surprised when i told them this child had heart disease as he never let show.Jacob was a very Brave little boy,I will always remember his stength and how brave he was.
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