*Donate Blood* -- Owen has had more blood transfusions and blood products than I can count. I am guilty of putting this off. You can organize a blood drive or just simply donate yourself.
*Pulse Ox Testing* -- If you, or a loved one, is pregnant and having a baby did you know you can ask for a simple, non invasive pulse ox test at the hospital. Some states are mandating pulse ox testing {finally} and this can be an early indicator of a CHD in your infant. 1 in 100 babies are born with a CHD and many go undiagnosed.
*Sports Physicals* -- This isn't one that gets talked about a lot, but my heart just breaks when I constantly hear on the news about a child coding on a football field or basketball court. Most of the time, it is because of an undiagnosed heart condition. You can ask for an ECG test during a sports physical and many times this will indicate if there is something going on with your child's heart.
*Organ Donation*-- This is obviously one that is so close to my heart!! Talk about organ donation with your loved ones. Make your wishes known to those closest to you. One organ donor can save many lives!!
*Raise Awareness* -- I feel like Owen is a walking billboard for CHDs. Owen wears oxygen so it is obvious to anyone around us that there is something "sick" about him. I get asked every time we are out.. "what happened? or Why is he wearing that?.. and I answer honestly. Most of the time people are so interested they want to dig deeper, and I am approachable, so they do. There is no celebrity endorsers for CHDs, you probably won't hear any big news coverage, there is no major marathon to raise funds for research, and no big funding coming to the CHD world. There is no cure. There is no pharmaceutical company that can make millions off a miracle drug to fix a broken heart. So as heart moms, we are doing what we can to support each other and pray that our doctors continue to find surgical advancements to improve the quality of life for all these kids.
Thank you all for your many prayers for Owen!!
**As of yesterday, we had to remove him from the Transplant List temporarily. This respiratory infection is kicking his butt and we just can't risk accepting a donor heart while he is struggling. Putting him on Bypass would be too risky, so we will just ride this virus out and get him listed again soon. He will not lose his time accrued on the list and his time will continue to accumulate. He is just put on Status 7, which is an inactive status.**
7 comments:
Praying for you all, always! Love the photo of Owen!
Have been and will continue to pray for Owen. Will now pray that the nasty bug will leave and he can be put back on the active list!
Praying for Owen. I wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your blog and let you know I nominated you for a Liebster Award. You can check it out at http://praying4raygen.blogspot.com/
ok, do I totally get the Mommy Protected. I'm doing that too. However....Would love to highlight Owen on my blog. Would you mind sending me that super cute pic of him? I'll link up to your blog if you don't mind.
Kate.. that's totally fine.. I"ll email you.
I"m adding Owen to my prayers. I cannot resist saying he is the cutest little boy. That smile could not be purchased for any amount of money. He is precious. I came over from Lucy's blog.
Andrea, would you mind if I copy your CHD awareness ideas onto Sarah's blog? (She really loves your little Owen.) I love the way you added things "regular" people could do to help. I would be happy to keep you anonymous, or link to your blog, whatever you prefer. Thank you!
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