Joel was born naturally just 3 days early weighing in at 5lbs 15oz. He
was a healthy newborn and we had no idea there was a problem until he
was 6 weeks old.
When he went for his first lot of jabs and check
up, the doctor noticed he had a heart murmer. He was referred to the
Sheffield Children's Hospital where the Doctors there diagnosed a hole
in the heart. He was then sent to the Children's ward at Leeds General
Infirmary for a heart scan, and it was there that DORV was diagnosed.
Double
Outlet Right Ventricle (DORV) means that the 2 main arteries that run
from his heart BOTH run from the right ventricle, Joel has nothing
running from his left ventricle.
He also has a large hole in the
centre of his heart, but in Joel's case this is a good thing. Because
there is no outlet from his left ventricle, any blood that goes into
there is using the hole as an escape route, without it, the blood would
have nowhere to go and Joel would be much much more poorly than he is.
To
look at Joel, you would have no idea that there is anything wrong, the
only way you would know is if you were to put your hand on his chest,
because the murmer is so strong you can actually FEEL it! Rather than a
bump bump bump feel, its more of a buzz buzz buzz. But other than that
there is no way of knowing.
Joel is a lovely colour, he is small
for his age, he is now 2 years old but he's about the avarage size of a
16/18month old. (So about 6 month behind in growth) His development with
certain things is slow too. He was very late sitting up (8 months) and
was 18 months when he walked.
Joel was, at one point, being
monitered for his weight, which dropped so low they couldn't measure it
on his chart, but thank fully he is gaining it well now and has reached
his target.
Joel has heart scans every few months, his last one
was on 3rd February 2010. At his last scan they discovered that as well
as the DORV he also has another artery that twists underneath his heart,
this has complicated things even further. They are now unsure whether
they will ever beable to correct his condition, it's all a matter of
wait and see what happens.
His next scan on on the 2nd July.
Well that's a bit about Joel - i will
keep you updated with his heart scans etc. Thanks for reading. xx
was a healthy newborn and we had no idea there was a problem until he
was 6 weeks old.
When he went for his first lot of jabs and check
up, the doctor noticed he had a heart murmer. He was referred to the
Sheffield Children's Hospital where the Doctors there diagnosed a hole
in the heart. He was then sent to the Children's ward at Leeds General
Infirmary for a heart scan, and it was there that DORV was diagnosed.
Double
Outlet Right Ventricle (DORV) means that the 2 main arteries that run
from his heart BOTH run from the right ventricle, Joel has nothing
running from his left ventricle.
He also has a large hole in the
centre of his heart, but in Joel's case this is a good thing. Because
there is no outlet from his left ventricle, any blood that goes into
there is using the hole as an escape route, without it, the blood would
have nowhere to go and Joel would be much much more poorly than he is.
To
look at Joel, you would have no idea that there is anything wrong, the
only way you would know is if you were to put your hand on his chest,
because the murmer is so strong you can actually FEEL it! Rather than a
bump bump bump feel, its more of a buzz buzz buzz. But other than that
there is no way of knowing.
Joel is a lovely colour, he is small
for his age, he is now 2 years old but he's about the avarage size of a
16/18month old. (So about 6 month behind in growth) His development with
certain things is slow too. He was very late sitting up (8 months) and
was 18 months when he walked.
Joel was, at one point, being
monitered for his weight, which dropped so low they couldn't measure it
on his chart, but thank fully he is gaining it well now and has reached
his target.
Joel has heart scans every few months, his last one
was on 3rd February 2010. At his last scan they discovered that as well
as the DORV he also has another artery that twists underneath his heart,
this has complicated things even further. They are now unsure whether
they will ever beable to correct his condition, it's all a matter of
wait and see what happens.
His next scan on on the 2nd July.
Well that's a bit about Joel - i will
keep you updated with his heart scans etc. Thanks for reading. xx
Fri Aug 13, 2010 12:42 pm by ~*~PrEgGyBoOm~*~
» Stupid boobs (sorry if tmi)
Mon Aug 09, 2010 9:48 am by ~*~PrEgGyBoOm~*~
» Ok just cause I am bored....
Sat Aug 07, 2010 2:46 pm by ~*~PrEgGyBoOm~*~
» Yay pram and cot ordered.
Tue Aug 03, 2010 8:36 am by ~*~PrEgGyBoOm~*~
» Prob a stupid question n possible TMI lol.
Tue Jul 27, 2010 4:34 pm by ~*~PrEgGyBoOm~*~
» Ugh.
Mon Jul 26, 2010 7:42 am by ~*~PrEgGyBoOm~*~
» hot seat sign up
Sun Jul 25, 2010 8:31 pm by mumto2kids
» 16th july
Thu Jul 15, 2010 7:12 pm by emmawellingtons
» The Birth of Siobhan
Thu Jul 15, 2010 1:28 am by mumto2kids