Anjali, born 2008

Anjali was born on March 27, 2008, at 6:29pm in York, ME. She was 7lbs. 12ozs. and 20 1/2 inches. She was perfect and healthy. She even received nines on her Apgar scores.

 

When the pediatrician checked her, a heart murmur was detected. It was still there at her one week appointment and then again at her one month appointment. She had no other symptoms besides a heart murmur; she had no problems breathing, her color was good, she was averaged sized, and acted normal in every way.

 

We then went to see a Pediatric Cardiologist on May 9th to check out the murmur. Anjali had an EKG and an echocardiogram. A Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) and Pulmonary Stenosis (PS) was found but it was unclear what else was wrong due to her unusual anatomy. We were then sent to a branch of Dartmouth Hitchcock in Manchester and then to Boston Children's Hospital for further testing.

 

On May 21st, after a MRI, Dr. David Brown at BCH confirmed the VSD and the PS, but also found a discontinuous left pulmonary artery. Instead of a functional pulmonary artery, Anjali's left lung was receiving blood from the ductus arteriosus that was closing quickly. It was only 1mm wide at that point. Because of the pulmonary stenosis and the ductus, she showed no signs of illness. Anjali also has a left sided arch too.

 

Anjali was operated on by Dr. John Mayer at BCH who patched the dime size VSD with a Dacron patch. He also repaired a small ASD. He reconnected the pulmonary artery with one of her own arteries. He also widened the pulmonary stenosis surgically by opening the artery and putting a pericardial patch on it. The surgery went very well and both Dr. Brown and Dr. Mayer were very happy.

 

Anjali spent the next three days in the cardiac ICU where she received excellent 24 care by her own full-time nurse. Every time we visited they removed an IV, line, tube, or bandage. Anjali progressed quickly and was moved to the regular cardiac floor, for 4 more days. There she healed more and an arrhythmia was found. It resolved itself in the next few weeks.

 

We left the hospital on Thursday, May 29th. Anjali is now six months old and is perfectly healthy. Besides her scars, you would never know she had surgery. She may need angioplasty at some point to stretch the pericardial patch but no other interventions are expected. She is big for her age now and is developing right on track. She is a joy to all of us.

 

We are very pleased with the care we received at Children's Hospital and would highly recommend them! We are forever grateful!

 

Story by Anjali's mother, Meagan - NEW HAMPSHIRE