When Dezi Had Open Heart Surgery

When Dezi had Open Heart Surgery

On November 5, 2013, my baby brother, Dezi, had open heart surgery. He was born with 5 heart defects on April 20, 2013. Because of Dezi, now not only my family, but friends and other people around us are aware of heart problems and the American Heart Association. Dezi even was the American Heart Walk Ambassador for Iowa.

When Dezi was born, the doctors took him away to the NICU. He had a heart murmur. They thought that it would go away within a day or two, but it didn't. The doctors told us that he was born with Tetralogy of Fallot, a combination of four heart defects. My parents cried and were upset with the news. The entire time he was in the hospital after he was born, Dezi was hooked up to wires and machines.

Before surgery, Dezi was really small. He weighed a lot less than he was supposed to. He didn't want to play because it stressed his heart out. He didn't even really start to crawl or move around much until after his surgery. My mom had to hold him constantly. It's better for babies to be close to mom because they can feel their heartbeat and it soothes them. My mom also wore him in baby wraps and carriers a lot. She thinks that the reason he did so well was because of her babywearing and nursing him.

Two weeks before Dezi's surgery, my family got a tour of the PICU and PEDS floor at Mercy, the place where Dezi would be staying. I remember feeling faint because I was scared for Dezi. I remember being really scared when they described what the surgery would be like. The place seemed happy, and it was. The walls were painted bright yellow with animals, plants, and rainbows everywhere. Buttons were lined up on the wall where you first walk in. If you push one, it makes a jungle animal sound. The nurses were nice and played with the kids to make them feel better. But the thought of having Dezi there was not one that I liked.

Finally, the day we were all dreading came. Lauren and I made Dezi heart shirtrs and wore them. We arrived at the hospital a day before Dezi's surgery so the nurses could put an IV in him and prepare him for surgery. My parents took him to PEDS while we were at school. I got a lot of kids and teachers to sign a card for Dezi. When I got home, Aaron's mom, Grandma Barb, was there. She watched us until Dezi and my parents got home from the hospital. She said we had to wait a bit before we went to see Dezi, so I made brownies. They were too thin because I didn't use enough mix and I used a pan that was too big, but they smelled really good. I shaped a heart on them out of pink sprinkles.

Since Mercy is a big hospital, it has a rescue helicopter. We got to see it take off every time we arrived at the hospital, and it was cool, but we knew something bad happened. It was cold outside, and there were patches of snow on the ground. I slipped on the snow a few times and hit the cement. It was hard and cold. There were people smoking in the parking lot because they weren't allowed to outside. Grandma Barb was so excited about Dezi that she told random people in the parking lot out story.

When we got to the hospital, Dezi had an IV taped to him. My mom was playing with him. I gave my parents the brownies and the card, and they appreciated it a lot. That night, we all prayed for the coming day.

Finally, November fifth came. My brother, Gavin, and I didn't go to school. The doctors whisked Dezi off to surgery really early in the morning to get him prepared. Most of Aaron's family came to support us. We are a part of a support group called Help-A-Heart, and the people from the group came and brought us sandwiches.

The waiting room was creamy colored. There were a lot of chairs in it. The room smelled like coffee, hot cocoa, and other food because there were restaurants lined up in the hallway. People were sitting in the chairs, crying and twiddling their fingers. We weren't the only people in there with loved ones in surgery.

I remember shaking for a lot of it. My blood felt like ice. I was cold, even though the room was pretty warm. I just sat in a corner and loom knitted a scarf or wrote what was going on in surgery in a notebook. I was scared. I just drank a bunch of Sierra Mist and smoothies and waited. We waited for about three or four hours.