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.