All of you know that Mae is having open heart surgery, but I thought it would be helpful if you knew exactly what parts of Mae's heart God made a little different than ours. First here is an explanation of all of the letters and then there are some pictures for you to see.
- Double Outlet Right Ventricle (DORV) [outlet=passage for exit, ventricles=lower chambers of the heart] – both vessels (aorta & pulmonary artery) carrying blood away from the heart come out of the right ventricle. (Normally the aorta carries oxygen-rich blood from the left ventricle and the pulmonary artery carries oxygen-poor blood from the right ventricle).
- Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA) [transposition=switch the order, great arteries=the aorta & the pulmonary artery] – the positions of the great vessels are switched so that the aorta (which carries oxygen-rich blood to the body) is closer to the oxygen-poor blood AND the pulmonary artery (which carries oxygen-poor blood to the lungs) is closer to the oxygen-rich blood. It is usually accompanied by a hole in the wall between the ventricles (ventricular septal defect or VSD).
- Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) [septum=wall between the chambers of the heart, ventricles=lower chambers of the heart] – holes in the inner walls of the heart allowing extra blood flow between the two lower chambers of the heart (ventricles). This causes the oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor blood to mix before leaving the heart.
Here is a comparison between your heart and Mae's heart.
She does the color purple better than anyone I know!
Mae already shows more love than any 5 year old I know, but that may be because I am her mom...LOL! I know that she has grabbed the heart of many and lots of people have fallen in love with this little miracle. I thank God for allowing us to be a part of His adorable, lovable, little princess' life!