Brooke was born with a heart condition called transposition of the greater arteries (TGA). TGA is where the main vessels at the heart, the aorta and the pulmonary artery, are switched. TGA does not affect a baby prior to birth because the baby's lungs aren't used for getting oxygen. However, after delivery oxygenated blood from the lungs would be pumped back to the lungs and carbon dioxinated blood would be sent back through the body.

We were extremely fortunate to have Brooke's condition diagnosed one month before delivery and even more fortunate that one of only a few hospitals in the country that could perform the operation was in Omaha, Nebraska. We planned to deliver in Lincoln, but once Brooke's condition was diagnosed, we switched all doctors and planned for delivery at Methodist Hospital in Omaha since it is connected to Children's Hospital.

After delivery Brooke was taken to the newborn intensive care unit where she spent her first day. During that day she was hooked up to multiple monitors, IV's in her umbilical cord and started on a medication called prostaglandins to keep the ductus in her heart open. Keeping this open allowed the blood in her body to continue mixing similar to how it did while she was in the womb. This medication allowed her to remain alive until surgery could be completed to correct the TGA.

Brooke was transferred to the pediatric intensive care unit on day two and did very well prior to surgery. She nursed, slept, cried and was held every day. She was hooked up to multiple IVs and monitor leads which made some of this a little difficult.

On day seven Brooke had open heart surgery to correct TGA. Surgery started at 9:00 am and was complete around 4:00 pm. Letting Brooke go off to surgery was the hardest thing mom and dad have ever done, but knew it was the only way to save Brooke's life. The surgery was completed by Dr. Kim Duncan at Children's Hospital in Omaha. Dr. Duncan is one of, if not the best newborn heart surgeon in the country.

Brooke's heart was stopped and hooked up to the heart-lung machine to pump blood while the surgery was completed. The coronary arteries switch was the hardest part of the surgery and completed first. These are the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle and are 1 mm in diameter, or approximately the size of a hair. A piece of skin around the end of the coronaries was removed and reattached, instead of severing the coronaries. Then the aorta and pulmonary artery were cut and reattached. Finally, the heart was restarted and worked perfectly. Brooke's chest was left open for two days to allow swelling to go down before sewing it back up.

After surgery Brooke recovered faster than mom and dad expected. She came off the ventilator one day after having her chest closed and was moved out of the pediatric intensive care unit one day later (day 11 after delivery). At that time she was not on any IV medications and was only hooked up to monitors and oxygen.

Larry, Kelly and Brooke spent the next four days recovering in a regular hospital room. Brooke was released from the hospital on January 4th, 2005 (day 14 after delivery). She will only be on one medication twice a day for two months after surgery.

Brooke's heart is not expected to have any further complications or require additional surgeries. She should have a normal active life and not have any restrictions due to TGA. All of our family feel we were blessed to have Brooke's heart condition diagnosed early, live close to a hospital that could treat it and have a great quality of life.