T. A. P. V. R

My son Quishawn Grady was born with this rare heart defect in November of 2006.  My labor was very intense because  he was not breathing at the time that I was getting ready to give birth.  My contractions were continuous meaning I had no time to breathe in between contractions.  Once I gave birth I was no allowed to see my son for a day and a half.  Thats when I was told about his heart condition, I began to blame myself and feel like it was all my fault.  I had to get him heart surgery at 5 days old to try to correct the problem.  At that time I was will to do anything to make sure that he was going to live.  When tak to the heart surgeon before Quishawn’s surgery I had no clue what total anomalous pulmonary venous return even was.  Thats when I began to get educated and ask him questions.  TAPVR is a congenital heart defect.  It is due to abnormal development of the fetal heart during the first 8 weeks of pregnancy, the vessel that bring oxygen-rich (red) blood back to the heart from the lungs are impropperly connected.  Normally, oxygen-poor (blue) blood returns to the right atrium from the body, travels to the right ventricle, then is pumped through the pulmonary artery into the lungs where it recieves oxygen.  Oxygen-rich (red) blood returns to the left atrium from the lungs through four pulmonary veins.  It then passes into the left ventricl,and is pumped through the aorta out to the body.

Right now to this day doctors are unable to tell parents if this rare heart disease is developmental or hereditary.  Event though they suggest to you that if you don’t get the heart surgery your child will die, it beats having the surgery and watching your child die right before your eyes.  Now adays, when women get ultrasounds I urge each and every one of them to get and Echocardiogram done on the baby heart and lungs it looks at the masses in the heart to detect if he or she will be born with a heart or lung disease.  So for all women who are pregnant or want to plan on having children, make sure that you talk to your doctor about this heart disease.  It can help change someones life if you do.