Andrew P, born 2004

On Christmas eve 2003, my husband and I found out we were expecting.  We were thrilled! My pregnancy went very smoothly and on April 7th, 2004 we were told our little one was perfectly healthy and that we were having a boy.  The remaining months were filled with anticipation and finally in the early hours of August 28th, our beautiful son Andrew was born.

It was very apparent that something was very wrong.  He didn't cry and when they placed him on my chest, he was blue.  They quickly rushed him to the other side of the room and a lot of nurses and doctors rushed into the delivery room.  I kept asking what was wrong and they kept saying that he just needed some oxygen. After several minutes that felt like forever, they rushed him to the NICU.  Eventually a doctor arrived to explain to us that Andrew had been diagnosed with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and that he needed to be life flighted to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

At four hours old, the transport team came and took him away.  He ended up crashing on the helicopter and needed to be revived.  Upon arriving at CHOP, he was rushed into the cath lab to balloon his aorta open.  Andrew had his Norwood at two days old and did well and came home two weeks later. We were extremely lucky that he never experienced any eating issues and had his Glenn at four months old.

Today, Andrew is thriving and is a very healthy and active little boy.  He is truly an inspiration to everyone who knows him, especially his parents!  We are also very thankful to all the doctors, nurses and staff at CHOP for all they do.

Story by Andrew's mom, Jennifer - Pennsylvania