An Update

Just realized it has been over a week since we posted anything. A brief update and answer to a few questions I have been receiving.

We are still waiting to hear back from the doctors at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago via Lia’s pediatric cardiologist at Mercyhealth. When I (Jeff) spoke with her doctor last week, he plans to contact Lurie’s early this week. Once we hear back, we’ll have a better idea on treatment direction and timeline.

I want to emphasize that Eliana is not sick. She is a happy and growing baby girl. The coarctation of the aorta is a condition that requires correction through surgical or balloon intervention to prevent long term detrimental effects on the heart and body. There are two extremes for the coarctation in children. First, many cases present symptoms shortly after birth- altered cardiac/respiratory function with signs of heart failure. These cases are usually corrected surgically shortly after birth. Second, many cases do not present obvious signs and are not discovered until late childhood or adolescence. I believe Lia is closely reflects this side of the coarctation spectrum and don’t believe we would have learned about the condition until much later had it not been for the Lord’s providential working by having Lia even seen by a cardiologist at three months old as a “routine” follow up to a fetal echo cardiogram performed during Danielle’s pregnancy. More about that at another time.

Thanks again for everybody’s prayers and support. We could not imagine journeying this alone.