No Shunt For Michael!

The latest cardiology appointment gave us the news that we have been praying for... Michael will only need two open heart surgeries, not three. I can clearly remember meeting with the surgeon, Dr.Wells, on our wedding anniversary. He told us that it is a very rare baby that can skip the shunt surgery. It seemed almost unrealistic to hope for such a miracle. I have learned that all things are possible with God, and that he has a special place in His heart for our beautiful child. Eric and I have been on an emotional roller coaster since the day we found out about Michael's condition, but I would not trade a minute of it. Michael is stronger and more stubborn than we could have hoped for! The plan is that Michael will have a heart cathiderzation in December, which will give the surgeons/cardiologists a better picture of Michael's heart. He won't have to be hospitalized with the cathiderization, but he will be sedated. After the results have been interpreted, Eric and I will meet with the surgeons to go over the details of the surgery. We will then be "put on the books" for surgery sometime in the end of January/early February. He won't have to have surgery again until he is about 3-4 years old. This truly is the best case scenerio for people with Tricuspid Atresia. Michael is our miracle man!

Video About Michael

Eric made a beautiful video about Michael's first two months of life. He is the best thing to ever happen to us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i4vRur60zk

Cardiology Appointment 9/9

Today was Michael's first visit to the cardiologist, Dr.Pruetz. It was a long day for the little one, he had to take a chest x-ray, ekg, and echocardiogram. The good news is that Michael oxygen level was 87 and he now weighs 7.8 pounds! There hasn't been any change in his heart (no news is good news). We have another appointment in a month. Yay! Michael is such a little miracle. I learned today that I should ALWAYS have more than one bottle with me at a time, because you never know how long an appointment will take. In the 4 hours that we were there today he ate 3 bottles. Grandma Harris had to scavenge around the hospital to find him a bottle, and a nice nurse gave me one. Also, always bring a stroller because those carriers are heavy and don't cut it. Oh well, lesson learned for me....first time mom stuff. I'm so grateful that Maria and Angela were there to help me...I couldn't do it without them. We are all SO happy with Michael's progress :)

He's getting bigger!

Michael is now 7 pounds 2 ounces! His likes include: eating (a lot), being held, stretching, and having his hands near his face. Dislikes : dirty diapers, baths, and letting mommy and daddy sleep.

He's Home!!!

The moment that we have been waiting for has finally arrived. Our beautiful boy is home! It was a VERY long 17 days in the hospital, and we could not be happier to be out of there. Just to be able to pick up our baby without all of those cords is such a relief. There are no immediate plan with the shunt surgery and our first cardiology appointment is in about two weeks. We are praying that he can make it all the way to the Glenn. I will think about all of that tomorrow...today is a beautiful day and Eric and I are very happy parents!

He's here!

It has been about two weeks now since Michael Maverick Harris has entered the world...and boy did he make an entrance! I went in for my weekly checkup at 37 weeks and the doctor said that my blood pressure was too high, and she sent me over to the hospital for observation. Eric and I were hoping that the blood pressure would go down and I would be able to go home and let the baby get nice and fat in the womb for ten more days. No such luck. My blood pressure was not dropping and they decided to induce me that very day. It was a long 24 hours of blood pressure machines going off and iv's being stuck in my arm and oxygen masks being shoved in my face. With all of this going on all I wanted was a glass of water, but no water for Kari, so I settled for ice chips. Then, at 5:10pm on 7/30 I experienced the most wonderful moment of my life- little Michael was born. He was 6 pounds 1 ounce (smaller than expected) and 47 cm long. I was so happy that I was able to hold him for a moment before they rushed him away, seeing his little eyes looking into mine was nothing short of a miracle.

After the initial tests, he was transported by ambulance the Children's Hospital LA Heart ICU. Eric was able to ride with him and be there with him as he was admitted. He spent about five days in the heart ICU where they determined that based on his oxygen saturation levels which range from 75-90, that he may not need the shunt surgery right away. They moved him up to the NICU where he stayed for the next five days and continued to thrive. The cardiologists are very impressed with how well he is doing, so they moved him up again to the sixth floor. The sixth floor is not my favorite place. It is a regular hospital room with a low level of care. Being in here is like going from the Ritz to a Motel 6, but I can't complain because it is a step closer to getting him home. Right now what we are working on is getting him to eat consistently. Due to his heart condition he tires very easily while eating, but he has been building up his endurance and is doing great. Today he finished his whole bottle twice...which is a very big deal. If he can reach his goal of eating on his own we can bust out of this place!! Eric and I are so sick of these monitors buzzing and doctors and nurses poking and prodding him. But we could not be happier with our little fighter. He has proven every one wrong from the time he's been in the womb. He is a strong, sweet, beautiful baby boy and we are so blessed to have him. Eric and I are so grateful to everyone for their support and generosity during this time. These two weeks have been the happiest and hardest of our lives, and it helps to know that we have an amazing support system there for our little family. Thank you.

Baby Harris

Birth Plan

We officially know that we will be delivering Michael at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital. The Hospital is across the street from Children's Hospital. Michael's due to be with us on August 15Th, however we have a feeling that he will come a little early. Kari is 35weeks. Due to his heart condition, Hollywood Pres is the best place for him to be born. So I wanted to give you a timeline for our birth plan.

1. Michael is born.
2. After birth there will be a series of diagnostic tests on his heart.
3. (If needed) His first surgery will take place within 1st or 2ND weeks of life. A shunt will be used to regulate blood to the lungs.
4. The Glenn Procedure 4-6 months later. (2ND Surgery)
5. The Fontan Procedure age 3 or 30 lbs. (3rd Surgery)
6. Kick n Ass and taking names

Met the Surgeon 7-7-10

We met with the surgeon Dr. Winfield Wells today at Children's Hospital. The meeting went really well. Dr. Wells said that Michael's heart condition is the best to have. He gave us a 98% success rate. Dr. Wells also showed us the procedures that will take place on Michael and the process when he is born. He was very comforting. After the meeting we were shown the Natal ICU. That was incredible, there were 20 doctors and nurses looking over 8-10 babies with heart disease. There is 1 nurse dedicated to each baby at all times. Michael will be in great hands. We were also comforted in knowing that one of us can be in the ICU 24 hours a day. There is also sleeping quarters for the parents when we need to take a nap. Although it wasn't our ideal place to spend our anniversary of 3 years. It kind of was.

-This is the profile of our surgeon.

http://www.cts.usc.edu/facultystaff-winfieldwells.html

Michael Maverick Mass

Michael had a Mass in his honor at St. John De la Salle in Granada Hills. The same place we got married. It was very nice of the Church to do that for us on such late notice. Grandma and Grandpa Sangalli, Momma Harris, and Aunt Angie were all in attendance. We also moved into a parent role by buying a bigger car for baby Michael. A new Honda CRV that you see in the background. Now I can stretch my legs out and Kari doesn't have to have the steering wheel pressing against her belly. Doesn't Grandpa Sangalli look good with his Tony Soprano shirt.

More Good News About Our Little Guy

Yesterday we had an appointment with our perinatologist (which is just a fancy way of saying high-risk pregnancy doctor). Going into the appointment we defiantly had a bone to pick with the doctor considering he was the one that misdiagnosed Michael with HLHS. What a doozy of a misdiagnoses, right? Perhaps he needs some help with the concept of right vs. left. He also gave us the diagnosis of a hypo plastic cerebellum, which means an underdeveloped part of the brain that controls motor skills. He had said that it may have been attributed to where Michael was in development (we all develop at our own rate). Needless to say that we were very concerned.
So we went into this appointment with a bit of a chip on our shoulder, but we did not want to gloat too much considering there was one more big hurdle that we were hoping to get over. Right when we got into "the position",which is me belly up on a table, Eric asked the doctor to check the cerebellum. I was thinking two miracles would be too much to hope for, but I was wrong! The doctor said that Michael is now right on track in his cerebellum and everywhere else in his tiny little body. Well, he doesn't feel so tiny when his head is pushing into your ribs. Now that we are equipped with all of our information all we need to do is create a game plan, which just so happens to be a Kari and Eric specialty. All I can say is that I am so thankful and at peace. I can breathe again and I know that we have an amazing son that has already overcome more medical ordeals in his 7 months in the womb than Eric and I have in our 28 years. We are so thankful to God, and we know that he will continue to heal our strong willed little boy. We would also like to thank all of our family and friends for all of your prayers and support, we couldn't do this without all of you. Love you all so much!

Tricuspid Atresia vs Normal Heart and HLHS Heart

Just wanted to show everybody the different hearts that we are dealing with.

Kari now at 28 weeks

Baby Michael is now 28 weeks and we are trying to fatten him up. It helped that Kari ate a huge pastrami sandwich Saturday at the Oinkster.

Michael is Already a Maverick

I have got to tell this story . During our Ecocardiogram at children's hospital on Friday, the Doctor was trying to get a good picture of Michael's heart. Michael was being very fussy and was not being cooperative. The doctor just could not get a good look at his heart. So the doctor shook Kari's belly and then turned to Mom, Aunt Angie, and me and yelled, "DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO EAT?" We looked at each other and said, "What?" Kari needed something to eat so the baby would turn. Luckily we had a granola bar. She ate it and then the doctor made Kari jog up and down the hallway. Kari looked like she was doing football drills. Finally Kari came in, and finally we were able to get a good look at the heart. Michael said, "screw you guys, I'm comfortable." We can already tell that Michael is going to live up to his middle name (MAVERICK), he does not live by any mans rules, he's a lone wolf. We love him already, the little rascal.

AMAZING NEWS

The most amazing news was given to us Friday, May 21st. Baby Michael was misdiagnosed. Kari, Eric, Momma Harris, and Aunt Angie were given the news at Children's Hospital that Michael does not have Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). This is the best news that we have every received in our lives. HLHS is a rare congenital heart disease that effects 4 in every 10,000 children. After doing a lot of research on the disease we were in a lot of fear that Michael would have to fight for his life. Instead, Michael was diagnosed with Tricuspid Atresia. Although he still has a serious heart defect, this is a manageable condition. The success rates after surgery are much higher than HLHS and Michael will live a normal life. He will get married, have babies, play sports, and be an amazing child and man. The news was brought to us from children's hospital during an ecocardiogram by Dr. Skolansky. He was so comforting, considering that we have had such grim news from all the other doctors that we have seen. Thanks to all.

Baby Michael Harris

The day we found out that baby Michael has HLHS we were extremely scared and shocked. We have done so much research and are still extremely worried. However, we have a lot of faith that our son is a fighter. He tosses and turns all the time which leads us to believe that he will be strong and fight for his life. We already love him so much.