Cardiology Appointment

On Friday, August 4th, Bryson had an appointment in with a Cardiologist. The Cardiologist thought that Bryson's heart was strong considering the Trisomy 13 diagnosis. All this time, we were told that he had 2 holes in his heart, ASD and VSD (Atrial Septal and Ventricular Septal Defects), which a lot of Trisomy 13 children do have. But remember, Trisomy 13 is not a cookie cutter diagnosis.

What was found was that he has a heart valve that was abnormal. Normally a heart valve has three flaps called "leaflets". Bryson has two flaps instead of three. Your heart valves keep blood flowing in one direction through your heart, just like the one-way valves in your home's plumbing. They open to let blood flow through, and then close to prevent blood from flowing back the way it came. When a valve closes, flaps of tissue on the valve close tightly together to create a seal. This is better news because it was thought that if he had both ASD and VSD, the possibility of him being able to withstand surgery outside of an emergency, was not even to be considered.

As he continues to grow and change, with every appointment, we learn more and more about this little fellow. He really continues to amaze us.