Eloise, born 2006

Eloise was born on June 15, 2006.  Her delivery was normal and no signs of a heart defect had been detected before birth.  She was released on the 16th and had a normal day at home. On the 17th, Eloise starting panting and had no appetite most of the morning and early afternoon.  Her mother had a feeling that something was wrong. We decided to take her to Children's Hospital in Little Rock (which is about 30 minutes away from our home) that evening and by the time we arrived, she was completely grey.  She crashed when we got her in the ER and the doctors thought she might have a systemic infection. I could see it in the doctor's eyes that she was going to die and my wife and I sat there and cried out to God. My wife's sweetest words were that Eloise was not ours, but Gods.  We were trusting in Him no matter the outcome. We waited for about four hours until we heard something from the doctors. 

They discovered she had HLHS and her ductus arteriosus had closed off during the day.  They administered prostaglandin to keep her ductus open and was in CVICU for 8 days. She was extremely sick and had acidotic blood and failure of the kidneys, liver, etc.  They finally got her stabilized enough for surgery on June 26. They performed the Norwood procedure and explained all three surgeries to us. She came out of the first surgery and she was in the hospital for another four weeks.  It took her 3-4 weeks to learn how to drink from a bottle. She was released on July 22nd and has been home since that time. The doctors and nursing staff at Children's were incredible and we completely trusted Eloise with everyone there. 

We wish they had detected her heart defect in utero but we also but that things are undetected many times and we are thankful she is with us today.  Eloise will have a heart cath and her second surgery in a month or two. She has two wonderful brothers, Samuel and Abraham. Her mother and I are so thankful for her precious life and the fact that God held her up in His hands throughout this time.  We truly see life from a different perspective and hope that people see God's goodness through Eloise. She is our miracle. We look forward to the coming years and we know that none of us are promised tomorrow - we enjoy each day as it comes.

Story by Eloise's dad, Clayton - Arkansas