Prayers for Ethan

Ethan is one of Claira's heart buddies that could use your prayers right not. In a message from his Mom ... "We leave early this Thursday, March 26th, for Ethan's heart cath. It is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. In the heart cath, they will be plugging a fenestration hole that they put in the Fontan (tube that goes to the lungs) to allow more blood going to the lungs for oxygen. The tube was put in his last heart surgery, June 2008. Please pray for Ethan, Brian & I. Please pray for Dr. Sperrazza (the cardiologist performing the heart cath), nurses & anesthesiologist taking care of Ethan. Please pray that Ethan acclimates to more blood going to his lungs smoothly. Thank you so much for your prayers. We appreciate them so much."

You're NOT Excused!

Claira burped today! Why is that a big deal you ask? Well ... 1 week after her heart surgery, she had a feeding tube placed directly into her stomach so we could force food into her body. During the surgery she had a fundoplication, which means that her stomach was wrapped around her esophagus. The hope with this procedure was to keep Claira from vomitting her, so desperately needed, nutrition. The bad side is that she couldn't vomitt if she had a virus, and ... she couldn't burp! We were told it would start to loosen up in a few years, and that she'd be fully restored by the time she was an adult. The first few days after her procedure were miserable for her while we learned how to manually burp her, even though her tummy was very full of gas. After her mickey button was removed, there was no way to relieve the gas or "back-up" except to wait for her body to move it the other direction!
So ... now do you understand our excitement? She burped!

My heart's all better!

Claira, Tom and I visited Dr. Kimberling last week for her yearly visit. It was very different this time because she seemed to understand a lot more. During the Echo, she laid very still and was very sober. While she was looking at the picture of her heart, the tech said ... "look, that's your happy heart".
After the Echo, another tech performed the EKG ... and she was wonderful! She let Claira put some of the stickers on her chest, and she took that job very seriously. After, she was in charge of taking all the stickers off ... she loved that!
The end result is ... she's a miracle! The Dr. said the scarring in her aorta is improving as she grows. He doesn't see any more invasive procedures in her future. There is still a murmur due to the small leak next to the patch, but she'll always have that. We'll continue yearly visits until she's 5, then we'll see!
When we got home we talked about her little heart, and I told her it was all better ... she said "Yeah! My heart's all beddur!"

Join us April 18th!

It's almost time for the 2009 Heart Walk! This year will be our family's 3rd year to take part in this event to help spread awareness of CHD ... and to get a little exercise!
Uncle Sam will be designing the t-shirts once again this year, and will be sold at a minimal cost (with proceeds going directly to the AHA). If you would like to order one, let me know!
Last year, we were amazed by the show of support for our little friend Grant who survived heart surgery a few months after Claira in 2007. We cant wait to see Grant again this year ... and want to have an even BIGGER group of our own! Join us ... work out your hearts ... and wear your pink/brown t-shirts!
Click here to visit Team Claira's page.
Click here to learn more about the Heart Walk, and how they help children just like Claira!

In the News ...

This picture was featured in yesterday's Tulsa World, Satellite section. The American Heart Association held a Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) awareness event at a recent TU Tailgate Party. Abuelo's catered the food and provided a balloon artist (hence the ladybug balloon). This year's Sweethearts and Mavericks interviewed the families as part of an ongoing project. If you want to know more ... click here to read the full article.

New Haircut!

Claira's 3-year-old big sister, tried out her new hair cutting skillz ... on Claira! After dangerously short bangs and a few spikes on top, we decided to help out the new "doo". A good friend shaped it nicely into her new adorable ... face-framing hair style. Very cute, thanks Dawn!

Happy Halloween!

She really was feeling a little "raggedy" that day. She's been running a fever since Thursday ... so she didn't trick-or-treat much. She went to a few houses after her Children's Motrin high kicked in, but that was it. Otherwise, she stayed home & helped hand out candy.
Don't you want just want to reach in and squeeze her?!