Karen on September 22nd, 2009

Today’s  Good Morning America covered an interesting story of a man with situs inversus (organs on the opposite side).  Jack Eigel lived with this condition just fine until he required a heart transplant in his early 50s.  The space for his new heart would be shaped differently, complicating an already difficult surgical procedure.
This interests me [...]

Continue reading about Flip-flop Heart Transplant?

Karen on September 15th, 2009

Back in April, I attached this photo to a post I wrote about Dr. Edward Bove (the surgeon who performed our Nathan’s surgery in 2006).  I learned from Phil Eppard, that the little fella’ pictured with Dr.  Bove is Phil’s son, Aidan.  The photo was taken in 2005 after Aidan’s first heart surgery and has [...]

Continue reading about Hooray for Aidan!

Karen on September 1st, 2009

Here is an excerpt from an Oprah program that ran today.
In case you missed this Oprah episode, watch as Dr. Oz explains why “the stem cell debate is dead.”

Continue reading about Dr. Oz: “The stem cell debate is dead.”

If your child is old enough to have good communication skills, you may wonder how much information you should share with him about his congenital heart defect. As Bryan and I discovered in our journey with our son, Nathan, this can be a delicate dance.  Not enough information can catch a child off-guard when tests [...]

Continue reading about “What Do I Tell My Child About His Congenital Heart Defect?”

Karen on July 1st, 2009

Nathan has the most unique anatomy in the family; but his sister, Michelle, has the most unique eyes in the family (Heterochromia).

Continue reading about Heterochromia: A Case of Funky Eyes