Confessions of a Mended Heart

Katja's Journey to (W)hole Heartedness

Welcome!

Welcome to Katja’s blog. A place for information, updates and our “laugh instead of cry” humor of living with a child with CHD (Congenital Heart Defects). Take a seat and prepare for a long emotional journey of our ups and downs. Feel free to browse posts about Katja, her heart and her previous surgeries. Newest updates are available below:

Updates

  • Failure Isn’t An Option

    Failure Isn’t An Option

    As I always say… “No news is good news”.

    We spent the summer blissfully appointment and hospital free. Katja was doing great and we very much enjoyed the break.

    Two months…. We got two.

    Early Sept I started to notice her a little off. I had hoped it was just the Tween years upon us. Then we saw Transplant…..

    There is significant changes to her pulmonary donor valve. Some minor/moderate ones to her aortic. Then her DSA’s (donor specific antibodies from her donor) increased with new types showing. Yesterday she had repeat labs. Her BNP (measures heart damage) increased 3 times in 2 weeks. Her immunosuppressant levels plummeted too.

    Seattle is consulting with DC and Boston. We still don’t know what rejection looks like in PHT kids. We have no way to test the tissue either. Her teams are scratching their heads as to what is causing this.

    For now, we are continuing to repeat labs, repeat her echos and watch/wait. Pray for Katja, she needs a break. This kid has suffered so much through her short life, she deserves a break 💔

    Jenn's avatar

    Written By:

    Jenn

More Updates

  • When Stars Align

    When Stars Align

    To say the last 3 weeks have been absolutely insane would be an understatement. We arrived in North Carolina to be greeted by Tropical Storm Chantel and multiple days of thunderstorms after. With all the flooding in the area and hotel issues, we were forced to move hotels, not once but twice in the span…

    Read more: When Stars Align
  • Tick Tick

    Tick Tick

    It’s been a long week. Shortly after we arrived Katja crashed and went to bed early. The next morning she was completely exhausted. Very tired and crabby. We were prepared for her having some jet lag but this was much worse. Over the next week her appetite disappeared (she’s on medication to stimulate it), she…

    Read more: Tick Tick
  • Up Up and Away

    Up Up and Away

    Writing this from inside a plane that up until 48hrs ago I never thought we’d achieve, is a bit surreal. I think we as a family are still very much processing everything that just happened. From feeling hopeless just a few days ago, discussing emergency back up plans that we knew had significant risks to…

    Read more: Up Up and Away

About Us

We are a fun loving family of 7. I’m Jenn, the Mom and words behind the blog. Dad Jori is the IT backbone of making sure I don’t go crazy over features. We have 5 beautiful children. Nevaeh (17), Twins Arianna & Araceli (15), Katja “Our Mended little Heart” (9) and Gryffin “Finn” (4).

Save Katja’s Heart: Urgent Flight for a Rare Transplant

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