Okay so my name is Caylen this is my story on how I found out I had CHD. CHD is heart problems that develop before birth. They can occur in the heart's chambers, valves or blood vessels. A baby may be born with only one defect or with several defects. Of the dozens of heart defects. I was 3 days old when my sister seen my face turning a little purple. They thought I was fine but my mom had a feeling in the inside that didn't feel right . The doctors told my parents that I had Tricuspid-atresia. Tricuspid atresia is a type of heart disease that is present at birth (congenital heart defect), in which the tricuspid heart valve is missing or abnormally developed. The defect blocks blood flow from the right atrium to the right ventricle. I basically had 3 holes in my heart and couldn't breathe. When I was 3 weeks old I had my first surgery . Every thing was going good but I had to get more surgeries . When I was about 9 months old the doctors did another surgery and then again at 3 years old . I was going in and out of the hospital. I had nurses coming to my house twice a week to check up on me. I had to take all kinds of medicines to help my blood get thin if I didn't take then I could get blood clots. Which of course no one wants that. As I was getting older my doctors were taking me off of some meds Cuz I didn't need them anymore. Even tho I was still weak I got stronger each day. A couple years go by and now I'm only taking one medicine. I'm still so very happy about that. After a couple more year one Thursday night I went to church and before it started I all of a sudden I couldn't breathe. I told my cousin and she yelled it out loud to my sister which made me mad. I mean she could have just went up to her but it's whatever now it's funny when we talk about how she did that. But anyways I couldn't breathe and I had one of my friends that kept on asking me if I wanted water I said "no" and that I was fine. On the inside I really wasn't I wanted to cry. I was so scared but I hid how I was feeling. As soon church was over I went to my moms car and told her . We then went home and my mom told me to lay down on the couch. We waited for about an hour and I still couldn't breathe. My parents brought me to the ER that night. They did all kinds of test on me and they put all kinds of medicine in me. I couldn't sleep or eat. I stayed there all night. I finally got to go to sleep at 6:00 in the morning. I kept waking up Cuz if ppl coming in and out of my room and they were asking me the same questions over and over again. I was getting mad and just wanted to get out of there. Finally around 3:30 I got to go home but I had to wear a heart rate monitor for 24 hours. After 24 hours I took it off and brought it back they did some more test on me. I went home and waited for the results. They said everything was fine it was just a little set back. I was extremely happy when I found that out. I've been pretty good ever sense then. Sometimes I still think to myself why were defects and diseases even on earth. But then I realize that none of us would have great story's and we could never inspire other ppl with the same problems. I used to be ashamed of the scar going down the middle of my chest I would always hide it and I wouldn't talk about how I got it until I found a picture that says "Never be ashamed of a scar it simply means u were stronger than whatever tried to hurt you." I really love that quote it means so much to me. I don't care what ppl say or when they ask me how I got it I just tell them my wonderful story and how I became a surviver of my CHD.
