Jackson's heart

On Tuesday we went in for a cardiologist appt for Jackson. He was
diagnosed with a small vsd (hole) in his heart at birth. It has not
caused any concern until now, but we go to the cardiologist
every 6 mo to 1 yr just to monitor it. Last time we went, in the middle
of the summer, she noticed that he had developed a very very small leak in
the valve between the left ventricle and atrium. Her hopes were that it was unrelated to the
vsd, as some people just have a little leakage in that valve. When they
did another echo on Tuesday, we found that wasn't the case. The leak has
gotten worse, and the valve is "prolapsing" into the hole. The valve is
basically being pulled into that hole when the blood is forced through
it. This is the one danger that they told of us when he was first
diagnosed with a vsd. Often, children with vsds will go their entire lives without
any problems. Other times the hole actually heals itself before they even
turn 2 years old. Sometimes though, the valve can be pulled into that
hole and it will weaken the valve (because of all the extra pressure) - causing a real threat to the heart and child.

In addition to the valve issue, his left ventricle has also become
enlarged, because of that extra bloodflow that is returning into the heart.
What this all means is that we need to now correct the hole before any
permanent damage is caused to the valve. Jackson will have to have
open-heart surgery to repair the vsd. They will place a patch over the
hole, and in time tissue will grow over it. It should be a permanent fix to the
hole, and will not need follow up surgeries ... just scheduled visits with
cardiologists to always keep an eye on it. The good news is that enlarged
ventricle will return to normal once the hole is gone, and his valve
should not have any permanent damage at this time because it has only been in the last 6 months that the problem started.

We are terrified to have him go through this. We don't want anything to
be wrong with our child. We don't want him to be in pain. Or be
scared. We don't think that God is punishing us. We don't understand
why this is happening, but we do understand that all things happen according to
His plan. We are hopeful that this surgery will leave Jackson with a
completely healthy heart, one that functions perfectly. We hope that his
quality of life won't be affected. We hope that this is a way for him to
be healed, and continue with a normal life.
The fear is overwhelming right now, and the peace of God is the only
relief. What we are asking is that you pray for Jackson. Pray that
this surgery heals him. Pray that God keeps him safe through the surgery
and afterward, and that he recovers quickly and without any problems.
We ask you to pray for us. Pray for strength and faith and hope. Pray
that the surgeon's hands are guided by angels.
Just please pray.

Its never a good time to hear news like this. But we are thankful that we
found out before Maggie is born - so we can take the best care of Jackson
that we can. And thankful that we hopefully found out at a point where he can have the surgery before there is permanent damage.
We have an appointment with the surgeon next Friday, January 13th. Once we find out more I will post it to our blog. We have lots of questions. And want to know how and when to talk to Jackson about it.
We close on our new house this Tuesday, and will doing the surgery sometime at the end of January or first week of February.
It's so much. It's overwhelming. It's paralyzing.
We are praying all day every day. Please pray with us.