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Camren
Throughout my entire pregnancy Camren was healthy. Every ultrasound showed a perfect little baby boy, however, all that changed on Oct. 27, 2005. I was informed by the doctor and nursing staff after my morning delivery that I had a perfect healthy 8lb 1oz little boy!
Later that afternoon, the pediatrician came to the hospital to do a routine check-up on my baby. The pediatrician then came to my room with the news that he heard a murmur. He said to be on the safe side, he was calling a cardiologist in to rule out any cardiac issues. He continued to stress to me that it was nothing, not to even get upset or worry something was wrong! So I didn't.
Seven hours later, when my family and friends were at my bedside waiting to meet Camren, the cardiologist walked in. I will always remember the tense 15 minutes she spent with me and my family that evening. She walked in with a concerned look on her face and nervously asked," Are you both Camren's parents?" His father and I, both said "yes". She then replied by saying, "Is it okay if I sit down?", and "Is it okay if I speak with everybody in the room?" At that point, I was getting extremely nervous, thinking to myself, "why is she talking like that, and why does she need to sit down when there isn't anything she needs to tell me except for that my son is okay, just like the pediatrician told me?" She began to tell me Camren was in critical condition, and that he had 2 severe heart defects. The first defect was called aortic coarctation. This defect would probably take his life, if not corrected by heart surgery. The Cardio doctor explained until he could get to UVA, the nurses would try to keep a piece of his heart functioning with medications which would normally dissolve (the piece) within hours after birth. My mind was racing, and I couldn't grasp the medical terminology and information she was telling me. I just knew that my son wasn't going to make it through the night!
It may seem messed up, but after everything was said, I didn't even want to go see Camren in the NICU. I felt like I had already bonded with him earlier that day and I didn't want to bond with him anymore, if he was going to die. My mom convinced me otherwise, and I went to see him.
Today, I am very glad I did. I feel like he knew I was by him and that's what made him fight. It was so hard to see Camren all hooked up, and to see the grim looks the nurses gave me regarding his fate. Camren lived through the night and soon was rushed to UVA hours later. He had his first heart surgery at 4 days old. His recovery was awesome! The doctor said there was a 5% chance the pre-coarctation area could become narrow again, and it has slightly to this day, but it's nothing they are worried about now. Camren's also has another heart defect, called Aortic Stenosis (AS). He had a cardiac cath and balloon dilation for his AS when he was two months old and in April of 2007. He recovered from this very well. Camren needs ongoing monitoring by his cardiologist and will eventually need an aortic valve replacement. Hopefully, he will be in his late teens, early adulthood when it comes to that.
The two defects Camren has are completely rare. In fact, AS happens in 1 in every 10,000 births and usually happens with males. Aortic Coarctation is also rare and usually goes along with other heart defects. Today, he's a normal two year old, playing with other children. He does get tired very easily, because of his heart having to work harder, but he has no worries at all. He's a free spirit, has an outgoing personality, and has a strong will to both stay alive and be healthy. All of these things are what draws people to love him so much!
Thank you for taking the time to read Camren's story!! God bless you and your family.
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Show all storiesCoarctation of the Aorta/Aortic Stenosis
Camren
Throughout my entire pregnancy Camren was healthy. Every ultrasound showed a perfect little baby boy, however, all that changed on Oct. 27, 2005. I was informed by the doctor and nursing staff after my morning delivery that I had a perfect healthy 8lb 1oz little boy!
Later that afternoon, the pediatrician came to the hospital to do a routine check-up on my baby. The pediatrician then came to my room with the news that he heard a murmur. He said to be on the safe side, he was calling a cardiologist in to rule out any cardiac issues. He continued to stress to me that it was nothing, not to even get upset or worry something was wrong! So I didn't.
Seven hours later, when my family and friends were at my bedside waiting to meet Camren, the cardiologist walked in. I will always remember the tense 15 minutes she spent with me and my family that evening. She walked in with a concerned look on her face and nervously asked," Are you both Camren's parents?" His father and I, both said "yes". She then replied by saying, "Is it okay if I sit down?", and "Is it okay if I speak with everybody in the room?" At that point, I was getting extremely nervous, thinking to myself, "why is she talking like that, and why does she need to sit down when there isn't anything she needs to tell me except for that my son is okay, just like the pediatrician told me?" She began to tell me Camren was in critical condition, and that he had 2 severe heart defects. The first defect was called aortic coarctation. This defect would probably take his life, if not corrected by heart surgery. The Cardio doctor explained until he could get to UVA, the nurses would try to keep a piece of his heart functioning with medications which would normally dissolve (the piece) within hours after birth. My mind was racing, and I couldn't grasp the medical terminology and information she was telling me. I just knew that my son wasn't going to make it through the night!
It may seem messed up, but after everything was said, I didn't even want to go see Camren in the NICU. I felt like I had already bonded with him earlier that day and I didn't want to bond with him anymore, if he was going to die. My mom convinced me otherwise, and I went to see him.
Today, I am very glad I did. I feel like he knew I was by him and that's what made him fight. It was so hard to see Camren all hooked up, and to see the grim looks the nurses gave me regarding his fate. Camren lived through the night and soon was rushed to UVA hours later. He had his first heart surgery at 4 days old. His recovery was awesome! The doctor said there was a 5% chance the pre-coarctation area could become narrow again, and it has slightly to this day, but it's nothing they are worried about now. Camren's also has another heart defect, called Aortic Stenosis (AS). He had a cardiac cath and balloon dilation for his AS when he was two months old and in April of 2007. He recovered from this very well. Camren needs ongoing monitoring by his cardiologist and will eventually need an aortic valve replacement. Hopefully, he will be in his late teens, early adulthood when it comes to that.
The two defects Camren has are completely rare. In fact, AS happens in 1 in every 10,000 births and usually happens with males. Aortic Coarctation is also rare and usually goes along with other heart defects. Today, he's a normal two year old, playing with other children. He does get tired very easily, because of his heart having to work harder, but he has no worries at all. He's a free spirit, has an outgoing personality, and has a strong will to both stay alive and be healthy. All of these things are what draws people to love him so much!
Thank you for taking the time to read Camren's story!! God bless you and your family.
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