Courtney Elizabeth Sprague Is Born

On Wednesday, August 10th, 2011, Courtney Elizabeth Sprague was born. She was 7 Pounds 4 Ounces and 20 inches long. When she came out she had a full head of curly brown hair!  She looked just like her brother Dylan when he was borrn. It felt like I had an army in the Operating Room with me.  The doctors quickly took her to the Neonatal Intesive Care Unit to do scans of her heart as well as evaluating her overall health.  A few hours after she was born, the cardiologist came and spoke with Joe and I while I was in the recovery from my C-Section. He informed us that the diagnosis was correct and that Courtney would have surgery within the next couple days.  She was transferred to Children's Hospital of Los Angeles from Kaiser LA on Thursdsay evening, August 11th. Her surgery was scheduled for August 12th at 8am. 

The Begining of the Journey

When Joe and I decided to have a second child we were so excited. We found out we were pregnant and secretly we were hoping for a girl. Of course a second boy would be fun,but how cute are little girls?  We went for our ultrasound and found out we were having a girl. Joe and I were filled with happiness and let our family and friends know that for sure a girl was on the way.  A few days later we received a phone call from the doctor that they needed to do another ultrasound because they did not get the scans they needed of the baby's heart.  The next few weeks were a whirlwind of Ultrasounds, Heart Scans, Genetic Counseling and Blood Tests.  The final result was that our baby had a heart defect called Tricuspid Pulmonary Atresia and a condition called Heterotaxy.  The plan would be to carry the baby to term and then have a planned C-Section.  After she was born and was stable, she would have open heart surgery within the first week of her life. Of course we were shocked to find out this information,but we were also glad to know ahead of time so that we could mentally prepare for Courtney Elizabeth's birth on August 10th, 2011.