Daniel is not only my sister's little angel but also ours. He arrived at a time when my mother was bored and wanted to be more productive. Thus, his birth was really much-awaited.
He is our angel. The first time we saw him in the nursery, we already know that he would be such an angel. He has a rosy complexion at birth and his long legs are very noticeable. We presumed he would be taller than the rest of our family. His face is round, his eyes big and round, his lashes long, and his lips really red.
As the days passed by, he proved to be a very charming baby. Despite the discomforts that he was experiencing, he always have a smile for us. He would respond to us whenever we talk to him, he always wanted to have someone with him. He does not want to be left alone. We would always take turns watching him and talking to him. He would smile at us especially when we play his favorite music - Edu Manzano's "papaya song."
He fills our house with warmth and tenderness. He make us stay longer in the house. Before he came, our house seemed empty. But when he came, there's never a dull moment
Experiences make us strong especially when those experiences taught us important lessons in life.These experiences come in different packages; sometimes they bring us joy; at times they teach us invaluable lessons; and most of the times they make us wish they never happened at all.I have had my shares of life experiences:happy, wonderful, memorable, enriching, disappointing, sad, and difficult.And because these experiences are sometimes sad, difficult, and disappointing, there is one experience I would never want to happen twice in my life.I still remember the day I rode at the front seat of an ambulance. It was Daniel’s (my nephew) third day in the ICU at MCUHospital.He had been in comatose for three days and when he finally woke up, the doctors allowed us to transfer him to the Philippine Heart Center where we had already made arrangements for his transfer.At 4:30 in the afternoon on February 2 last year, I took the ambulance ride which was my first and hopefully the last.Beside me was my brother-in-law while my sister was at the back together with two doctors, a nurse, and two medical assistants; all from MCUHospital.I could still see the frantic look on my sister’s face as we began the trip, slowly at first.Daniel was on a manual respirator and it was really difficult for he was having seizures and the slightest discomfort could cost him his life.Barely five months old, his small body could hardly take what was happening to him.As we drove along EDSA, my heart thumped like the beatings on a drum.The siren was non-stop, and so was the honking of the ambulance’ horn.I could feel my blood rushing inside me, my face turning red, and my head swelling.I wished I could swear but I couldn’t.I wished I could just go down and stop all the cars slowing us down each time I hear my sister shriek when Daniel stopped breathing.I wished I could wring the necks of the insensitive drivers who tried to overtake and slow us down as we looked flushed and hopeless inside the ambulance.All I could do at the time was to plead God to let us arrive in time at the PHC.The 15-minute ride felt like eternity.As Daniel was carefully lifted up to the stretcher and rushed to the emergency room where the head of the pediatric section was already waiting for him, I uttered a silent prayer thanking God that Daniel made the short trip from MCU to PHC.As darkness slowly engulfed the atrium where I was waiting for my brother-in-law, I could still feel the rapid beats of my heart.It was almost midnight when we were allowed to go inside the ward.Only then did my heart’s rapid beats begin to subside. (tvvillaflores-22/01/09)
On September 12, 2007, my 28-year-old sister gave birth to her first baby (a seemingly healthy boy) through normal delivery. We named the baby Daniel. Two weeks after his birth, my sister noticed that her baby was having difficulty in breathing and she suspected that it could be the symptoms of a cold. They brought him to a clinic and my sister was advised to have Daniel undergo a chest X-ray. They got the results of the chest X-ray on October 2 and they were immediately instructed to bring Daniel to the Philippine Heart Center for an echocardiogram—a procedure that evaluates the structure and function of the heart by using sound waves recorded on an electronic sensor that produce a moving picture of the heart and heart valves.
That Wednesday morning, we brought Daniel to the Philippine Heart Center and after the echocardiogram; there the doctor told us that baby Daniel has a rare heart disorder which is called TRUNCUS ARTERIOSUS 1. What is truncus arteriosus 1?
Truncus arteriosus is a congenital (present at birth) defect that occurs due to abnormal development of the fetal heart during the first 8 weeks of pregnancy. The heart begins as a hollow tube, and the chambers, valves, and great arteries develop throughout the first 8 weeks of pregnancy. The aorta and pulmonary artery start as a single blood vessel, which eventually divides and becomes two separate arteries. Truncus arteriosus occurs when the single great vessel fails to separate completely, leaving a connection between the aorta and pulmonary artery.
In layman’s term, truncus arteriosus 1 is a condition where an artery in the heart does not split into two and remain as one blocking the regular flow of blood and oxygen.
This condition makes Daniel very uncomfortable. He has developed a very sensitive reaction to anything and everything around him. Even the slightest and the softest sound can startle him. Once startled and irritated, he begins to cry which further alleviates his discomforts. The doctor reminded us that as much as possible we should not let him cry for longer periods of time. We were also told to really watch his health closely for Daniel could not afford to have a fever, cold, or flu for it will be very critical for him.
Truncus arteriosus must be treated by a surgical repair of the defects.Surgery is usually performed after the infant is two weeks old but before the blood vessels in the lungs are overwhelmed by extra blood flow and become diseased.The operation is performed under general anesthesia by detaching the pulmonary arteries from the common artery and connecting to the right ventricle using a homograft (a section of pulmonary artery with its valves intact from a tissue donor).The ventricular septal defect is then closed with a patch.
The information and diagram was quoted from:Lucile Packard Children's Hospital
