Prayers, more than ever

I talked about this in my previous blog, albeit heavily laden with emotions -- emotions of a mother who just learned that her precious baby has a congenital heart anomaly.

We had our second 2D-echo today to assess Xofia's heart. The first one was done when she was yet 2 months old. On her 2nd month well-baby checkup, her doctor noticed murmurs. The 2D-echo confirmed what the doctor doubted: Atrial Septal Defect.

Her cardio expressed that the hole should've shown improvements now that she's 1 year old. It did not, however. This tells us that surgery is the way to go, and we should be doing it the soonest possible time. Xofia remains asymptomatic as of date; but we are unsure what the future holds, and I don't wanna wait until after something has happened, God forbid.

Her cardio tentatively scheduled the surgery to happen when she's 1.5 to 2 years old, which is 4-9 months from now.

Between cardio-cath and open heart surgery, my own heart is leaning towards the cardio-cath. This is possibly a life-altering decision we're making. What's making it more difficult is that it's not our lives that depend on this decision, it's our daughters'.

In my own little research, the benefits of cardio-cath procedure outweigh that of an open heart surgery. I can't imagine how my daughter, young as she is, can go through the after-surgery pain and recovery. But she still has to undergo tests to determine if she's a viable candidate for the cath procedure. Right now, that's the only things I'm praying; that the remaining muscles around the hole are strong enough to hold the amplatzer. That she's a viable candidate for the cath procedure.

I did not ask for a genius, gifted, advanced baby, all I ever asked was a normal, healthy baby.

As I've always appealed to friends and family, Xofia needs your prayers. Now, more than ever.