Logan was a very happy baby, cute&handsome. He would have been a heartbreaker he was so cute~~! Logan was born with a heart defect. It's hard to explain but I will do my best. Logan was born with a congenital heart defect, a bit more than one. I will try to explain.
1. Aortic Stenosis
Aortic stenosis is a narrowing of the aortic valve or a narrowing of the aorta directly above (supravalvar) or below (subaortic) the aortic valve. Normally, oxygen-rich blood is pumped from the left ventricle, through the aortic valve, into the aorta and then out to the body. With aortic stenosis, it makes it very hard for the heart to pump blood to the body. Because of this he had to have surgery when he was two weeks old. Congenital aortic stenosis occurs four times more often in boys than in girls.
Logan also has a 2. Atrioventricular Septal Defect (also known as atrioventricular canal defect, or AV canal) This complex defect is best described as a large hole in the middle of the heart. It results from a lack of separation of the atria and the ventricles into separate chambers, and a lack of separation of the mitral and tricuspid valves into two separate valves. This results in a large connection between the two atria, between the two ventricles, and a single atrioventricular (or AV) valve where there should be separate mitral and tricuspid valves. In the most complex form of this defect, not only are there holes between the atria, the ventricles, and the mitral/tricuspid valves, one of the ventricles may not be properly formed, the valves may be 'over-riding' or 'straddling', or there may be an obstruction to the aorta. Because of the large amount of extra blood going to the lungs (through the septal defects), high blood pressure may occur and over time this can damage the blood vessels. In addition, the valve between the upper (atrial) and lower (ventricular) chambers might not close properly. Blood then leaks backward from the ventricular chambers to the atrial chambers. This leak is referred to as regurgitation or insufficiency of the valve. When the valve leaks, the heart has to pump more blood. This was also fixed during his first surgery.
3 Coarctation of the Aorta The aorta is the main artery that sends oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the body. Coarctation of the aorta is a constricted segment of the aorta that obstructs blood flow to the body. The left ventricle has to pump harder because the pressure is high. Coarctation of the aorta occurs in about 6 to 8 percent of all children with congenital heart disease. Boys have the defect twice as often as girls do. This was also fixed during his first surgery.
When Logan was 11 months old he had to go and have his second surgery. It was supposed to be a minor one. This is what had to be fixed.
4. Pulmonary Stenosis (PS) Pulmonary stenosis is a narrowing of the pulmonary valve. Normally the pulmonary valve opens to let low-oxygen blood flow from the right ventricle to the lungs where the blood is oxygenated. Because of the narrowing, the right ventricle has to pump harder to get past the stenotic valve. This can sometimes lead to enlargement of the right ventricle. With pulmonary stenosis, problems with the pulmonary valve make it harder for the leaflets to open and permit blood to flow forward from the right ventricle to the lungs. Logan had this fixed in his first surgery but now there are parts that need to be refixed.
5. Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) A ventricular septal defect, or VSD, is the most common kind of congenital heart defect. Normally, blood entering the right side of the heart stays on the right side (this is low-oxygen blood), and blood on the left side of the heart stays on the left side (this is oxygen-rich blood) which is then pumped to the rest of the body. When a defect or "hole" is present between the ventricles (or lower chambers), blood from the left side of the heart is forced through the defect to the right side every time the heart beats. It then goes back to the lungs even though it is already rich in oxygen. Because of this, blood that is not yet oxygen-rich can't get to the lungs. The most common signs and symptoms are trouble eating and gaining weight, this is why Logan has a hard time gaining weight. He's already 11 months old but only weightes 16lbs. A baby with a large VSD tires quickly after not eating very much, falls asleep, wakes us in a short while quite hungry, tries to eat again, tires easily, and the cycle is repeated. The child would be expected to have virtually normal growth, development, and life expectancy following repair. This is being fixed in this sugery. Hopefully.
6. Bicuspid aortic valve The normal aortic valve has three flaps (cusps) that open and close. A bicuspid valve has only two cusps. Lgoan has this now and because of this he may need a pace maker.
Bicuspid aortic valve is the most common congenital cardiac anomaly occurring in 1-2% of the population with boys affected 4 times more frequently than girls.
During surgery they couldn't get him off of bypass so they had to put him on a machine called the echmo machine which is like bypass only not. Then they told us he was going to need a heart transplant. Chad and I were hopeful that this would work. They brought this machine called the "Berlin Heart" from Germany
The Berlin Heart [Berlin Heart. from Germany. The pump, which acts like an artificial heart, remains outside the body and is attached to Logan's own heart by four tubes, each held in place with 60 stitches.} and gave him surgery again to give him the Berlin Heart which would act as an artiviful heart until he would recive a transplant. However after his Berlin Heart sugery Logan's little body just couldn't take anymore pain and stress. Both of his lungs collapes after surgery. A few days later he devoloed a virl blood infection and the day he passed away his kidneys failed.
Logan
