CHD Awareness Week - Day 5!

7 People Who Helped Save Tucker's Life

1. First and most importantly, our amazing God and our lord and savior Jesus Christ (Philippians 4:13).

2. Mary, the lactation consultant in McKinney who first noticed something was wrong. If it hadn't been for her keen eye and quick thinking, we would have been discharged from the hospital and Tucker would have died in his sleep that night.

3. Dr. Reyes, the on-call pediatrician in McKinney who caught the murmur. Even though he is not our pediatrician anymore, we are still very thankful for Dr. Reyes, because he was the first person to recognize that the problem was with Tucker's heart.

4. Dr. Lucena, the neonatologist in McKinney who decided to send Tucker to Plano for further testing. If Dr. Lucena had decided to keep Tucker in McKinney for even 30 minutes longer, he would not have survived.

5. American Medical Response ambulance team, specifically Glen and Misty, for being so careful during transports to two different hospitals. Also, Misty kept us updated while they were working on a diagnosis in Plano and she was the first to tell us that something was horribly wrong. She could have waited and let the doctors tell us, but she knew that her gentle, motherly way would be better for us.

6. Dr. Tim Thomas, our pediatric cardiologist, for catching the true culprit and sending us to Medical City. He knew immediately that something was seriously wrong and made quick decisions that helped save Tucker's life. Since then he has become as much of a friend as a doctor to us. We thank God everyday for Dr. Thomas and his wonderful wife, Andrea!

Dr. Thomas with Tucker and Heart Friends

7. Last, but certainly not least, Dr. Eric Mendeloff, the amazing pediatric heart surgeon that fixed our baby's heart. Dr. Mendeloff is a master of his craft. He can repair hearts that are only the size of a strawberry and work on blood vessels that are only millimeters in diameter. He is also special because he is not like any other surgeon that I have ever met, and I worked in a hospital for 3 years. He is not arrogant, he listens to his patients and parents, and he uses his time and his money to support our group, Amazing Little Hearts...he is our "Rock Star"!

Dr. Mendeloff and Tucker

There are many more people who played a part in helping to save Tucker's life, not to mention all the people who helped us through the roughest of times and kept us sane!  We could not have made it without the love and support of all of our family, friends, and co-workers!

Thank you for keeping up with us and this blog and please take a minute to write something in the guestbook and/or share this site with someone else.

Our last event for CHD Awareness week is tomorrow. We are having a blood drive and party at Medical City Children's Hospital tomorrow afternoon.  The blood drive will be from 10am - 4pm and the party will be from 10am - noon. Please join us and help support our kids. Also, the blood supply in Dallas is dangerously low, so if you can donate, we REALLY need you!!!

With love & Heart Hugs!

Trent, Dena, & Tucker