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

  • To You Amazing People

    To You Amazing People

    *****UPDATE***** Katja’s flight to North Carolina has been fully funded! With the help of all of you amazing donors! We’ll be flying out on Friday to await her partial heart transplant at a hotel by Duke Children’s hospital. We are still working on her return flight when she will be post surgery on full immunosuppressants…

    Read more: To You Amazing People
  • Thank You

    Thank You

    We are beyond grateful for all the people that reached out to us and the media to make this happen. Thank you all so so much! Kiro 7 King 5 (click to watch) https://www.king5.com/embeds/video/responsive/281-fc70c02e-2332-47b6-b696-7ba27a8c0679/iframe

    Read more: Thank You
  • Katja Needs Your Help!

    Katja Needs Your Help!

    The waiting is the hardest part, honestly it is. Katja got to watch her big sister Nevaeh graduate (thanks to the kindness of the Angel of the Winds arena). We were able to breeze her in a separate exit, avoid all the crowds and take her right to an isolated box suite. She was able…

    Read more: Katja Needs Your Help!

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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