Lizzy's medical update

I will start at the beginning for those of you who don’t know the story. Our baby Lizzy was diagnosed with something called VSD (ventricular septal defect). This is basically a hole between the ventricles of the heart. The echocardiogram showed that it is a much larger hole than usual. We discovered it because the pediatrician heard a loud heart murmur and sent us to a cardiologist. We are hoping that the hole will close on its own because if not, Lizzy will eventually need open heart surgery to repair it. For now we are just trying to keep her eating well so that she will continue to gain a healthy amount of weight. Eating is hard work for a baby and because of her heart defect, extra fluid builds up in the lungs making it hard to breathe. This causes her to get tired and sweaty while eating but it is not bad yet and she is still eating really well. At her appointment a couple days ago she was started on a medication called Lasix which will help get rid of excess fluid in her lungs making it easier for her to breathe. This will hopefully prevent her from getting winded while nursing and she will continue to eat a sufficient amount of breastmilk. Her chest x-ray showed that her heart was only mildly enlarged and she gained a good amount of weight. Because of this good news Dr. Samyn (the cardiologist) thinks she does not need surgery right away. That’s all for now, her next follow up appointment is the Monday after Thanksgiving. Thank you so much for all the phone calls and support you have shown us since this all started. We ar so lucky to have such great family and friends. Please keep Lizzy in your prayers!