Fundraiser - Wednesday July 9th. 11am - 9pm Dine with us and we will donate 10 percent to help the Family Reaching Out – Baby Fiona’s Congenital Heart Defect Story She was born a healthy baby girl, weighing in at 7 pounds, 14 ounces and 21 inches long. The following day, Fiona went to have her routine newborn testing and the nurses and doctors realized then that something was not right with her heart. After more testing, the doctors came to the conclusion that Fiona was born with a Congenital Heart Defect (CHD). She had VSD-Ventricular Septal Defect, ASD-Atrial Septal Defect and COA-Coarctation of the Aorta. After finding out what the problem was, the very difficult decision was made to schedule open heart surgery for Fiona when she was only 15 days old. Fiona’s heart surgery lasted almost 6 hours. During the surgery, there were a few complications. Her left vocal cord was paralyzed, her kidneys were damaged, and they also discovered she was born with no Thymus. The lack of a Thymus means that Fiona was bon with out an immune system. Due to the damaged vocal cord, Fiona could not vocalize when she was hungry and couldn’t realize when she was actually hungry. The doctors decided to place a feeding tube to see if it would help Fiona any. With the feeding tube in place, it was very difficult for Fiona to tolerate regular formula due to serve acid reflux. Eventually the decision was made to place a G-Tube inside her belly to try and help her eat and try to repair a muscle in her stomach to help control her acid reflux. The surgery was a success and Fiona was on the road to recovery and being able to go home. Over the next few days and nights, Fiona’s heart rate would not stabilize. It was a steady, fast pace. Which was not good. One night, Fiona’s doctor actually slept in the room with her to monitor Fiona. After spending close to two months in the hospital, Baby Fiona was finally able to come home! She would have to come home with a feeding tube, an incredible amount of future doctor visits, different medications, and special formula for her feeding tube. The sun was starting to shine on the French Family! Forty-eight hours later, Rhonda and Bobby rushed Fiona back to Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando, FL. She was having complications with her feeding tube. Once re-admitted, doctors determined there was an infection around her tube and immediately started her on anti-biotics. Within a day or so, the infection seems to be clearing up. They have put her on a stronger acid reflux medication, and a new heart medication that seems to be working wonders. As of right now, there are no more surgeries in Fiona’s future. With everything that has gone on since Fiona was born, Rhonda and Bobby have endured very scary times. Between the health of their baby girl, to figuring out how to pay for Fiona’s medical bills, coming very close to loosing their home, and the back and forth travel to Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando, FL, this family is stretched thin as ice. Rhonda started a GoFundMe account to raise donations to help cover all of the current and future costs that they will face during Fiona’s recovery. There will also be several fundraisers in the near future to help raise money to help go towards saving their home as well. The first one will be July 9th at Memaw’s BBQ in Palm Bay, FL from 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM. There will be a table set up at the front door, where raffle tickets can be purchased for $1, 2, and $5. There will be a few different prizes from local business owners, including Amanda Catherine Photography (ME!). All of the proceeds will go towards Fiona’s GoFundMe account. On July 9th, make sure to bring a copy of the event flyer (attached to this post) and Memaw’s will donate 10% of that days earnings to Fiona’s cause. Once I have the information on the other fundraisers, I will make sure everyone possible knows.
Posted on: Mon, 07 Jul 2014 15:23:19 +0000
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