Welcoming Baby Ivan
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McDaniel Family
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McDaniel Family
❤️ Ivan Eduardo McDaniel ❤️
🌎 Born on July 18th at 8:29am weighing 8lbs 11oz.
Our hearts are so full of love for this little one. Saul has stepped into being such a great big brother, even so when he complains about the stinky diapers.
Our hospital stay was phenomenal. Ivans delivery was very smooth. I had the best nurses. An amazing doctor. Logan even got to cut the cord this time (something he didn't get to do with Saul). We were so excited to take home our newest bundle of joy to his big brother when we got some bad news.
Ivan had a pretty loud heart murmur. After doing an echocardiogram in the hospital, it showed he has pulmonary valve stenosis and atrial septal defects.
Pulmonary valve stenosis is a heart condition where the valve that controls blood flow from the heart to the lungs is too tight or narrow. Because of that narrowing, the heart ventricle has to work harder to push blood through the valve and into the lungs to pick up oxygen.
In short: it’s like a door that doesn’t open all the way, making it harder for blood to get to the lungs.
Initially, they believed the PVS to be mild and that the atrial defects could possibly resolve on its own and were comfortable sending us home as long as we set up a follow up appointment with a cardiologist.
The echo and EKG this week revealed the opposite—SEVERE pulmonary valve stenosis along with two holes in his heart.
Now Ivan now needs an urgent heart catheterization that's next week Thursday, September 4th.
The hope is to use a ballon to widen the heart valve and repair the atrial holes.
With this procedure three things can happen:
1. They widen it a perfect amount it corrects the blood flow.
2. It doesn't open it enough and they have to go back do a repeat heart catheterization in a couple months.
3. It widens too much/aggressively and becomes a leak which will require surgery.
Ivans feeding are sometimes difficult with him being lethargic or it becomes too strenous for him. He had trouble getting back to his birth weight. We have to monitor his breathing and make sure it doesn't become too labored.
Logan and I first kept the news to ourselves. Not even telling our parents initially. We struggle with asking for help. I struggled to post about this birth and this update because it wasn't a " happy update".
Then it just became too heavy. We're mad. We're sad but we continue to find more and more love and support in telling our friends and family each time we share Ivan's story.
This journey is scary, but knowing we’re not walking it alone has lifted such a weight off our hearts. Every kind word and act of support reminds us that our family is surrounded by so much love.
From the bottom of our hearts — thank you for being our village.
Every prayer, share, and gift means the world to us. We thank everyone for loving our family through this.
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Sherry Sells
Brooks Benedict
Cheryl Sanders
Jessica Baker