PDA

On March 22, 2012, Sister seemed to be having a bad day. The nurses were having a hard time keeping her blood pressure and oxygen levels in the range she needed to be in. Dr. W decided to do a chest xray. The xray came back and Dr. W decided that we needed to do an echo immediately. The echo showed that sister had PDA

What Is Patent Ductus Arteriosus?

Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a heart problem that affects some babies soon after birth. In PDA, abnormal blood flow occurs between two of the major arteries connected to the heart. These arteries are the aorta and the pulmonary (PULL-mun-ary) artery.
Before birth, these arteries are connected by a blood vessel called the ductus arteriosus. This blood vessel is a vital part of fetal blood circulation.
Within minutes or up to a few days after birth, the ductus arteriosus closes. This change is normal in newborns.
In some babies, however, the ductus arteriosus remains open (patent). The opening allows oxygen-rich blood from the aorta to mix with oxygen-poor blood from the pulmonary artery. This can strain the heart and increase blood pressure in the lung arteries.

We were prepared (as prepared as can be) for this, thankfully. We already knew that this could happen. Dr. N had explained this the day before, just to prepare us....just in case. And the next day there we were with a different dr telling us that this sweet girl had a pda. We were thankful that God prepared us, it didn't scare us any less. I've said it over and over and will continue to say it... We hold tight to the One who holds the future and know that He holds our sweet girl and we trust that.

The immediately began the meds that would close the pda. Within 48 hours the hole was closed and baby girl's bp was looking good.

Praising Him!