CHD Awareness Week - Day 6!

7 Reasons We Are Happy to Be CHD Parents

1.  Because God loved, blessed, and trusted us enough to have a special baby with a special heart!

2.  Because his heart is half the normal size, which means we get to love him twice as much.

3.  Because through this process we have found out what great family and friends that we are blessed to have supporting us.

4.  Because we have made lots of new friends in the CHD community.

5.  Because through Tucker, we have been able to share an amazing story about God's unending love and the miracles that can occur with him!

6.  Because we are guaranteed to never have a "normal" or "routine" day.

7.  Because every time we see his scar, we are reminded of what a miracle and blessing ALL babies are to their parents!

To ALL parents who read this page: It is SO important to get your kids checked for CHDs, regardless of their age. Most defects are diagnosed at birth, but many aren't caught until later in life and that can be a dangerous prospect! Most athletes who die from sudden heart failure are found to have an undiagnosed CHD. Also, how many babies who die of SIDS actually had a CHD that was missed.

Don't know how to get your child checked? The easiest way is to use a pulse oximeter, which can be found at any doctor's office. It is a totally non-invasive test and only takes a few seconds. If you are expecting, you should INSIST on having your baby checked with a pulse oximeter immediately after birth and then again after 24 hours. If they had done this for us, Tucker would have been diagnosed much sooner. Tell your OBGYN to put it into your birth plan.

Here is some food for thought: The painful heel prick test that's standard for ALL newborns, checks for Phenylketonuria, affecting 1 out of 10,000 babies. Congenital Heart Defects are more lethal and afflict 1 out of every 100 babies, yet the simple, non-invasive, non-painful diagnostic tool, the Pulse Oximeter, which can help detect many CHDs, lies unused in the nursery.

Thank you to everyone who came out to the Blood Drive today, we had a great turnout!

With love & Heart Hugs!

Trent, Dena, & Tucker