HI THERE! FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW US WE ARE BRETT AND NICHOLE AND THIS IS THE STORY ABOUT OUR JOURNEY TO STARTING A FAMILY VIA SURROGATE!
BEFORE YOU START READING, I WOULD LIKE TO NOTE THAT I AM JUST A REGULAR GIRL WHO IS ABOUT TO BE A MOM AND WANTED TO SHARE OUR STORY. I AM IN NO WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM A PROFESSIONAL WRITER! MY ONLY HOPE WHILE WRITING THIS IS TO LET PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED KNOW MORE ABOUT HOW THIS PROCESS WORKS AND WHY WE HAD TO DO IT. I ALSO HOPE THAT IT MAY SPEAK TO PEOPLE THAT MAY BE GOING THROUGH THE SAME THING OR SOMETHING SIMILAR. WITH THAT BEING SAID, GO EASY ON ME, AND I HOPE YOU ENJOY!
TO GET THE FULL PICTURE I FEEL LIKE I SHOULD START FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. AS IN THE DAY I, NICHOLE ELLEN, WAS BORN. IN AUGUST OF 1988 I DECIDED TO JOIN THE WORLD IN THE BEAUTIFUL ESTABLISHMENT OF KAISER PERMANENTE IN FONTANA, CA. OK, SO MAYBE NOT THE PRETTIEST HOSPITAL IN THE WORLD, BUT ALL THAT REALLY MATTERED WAS, THAT THE DOCTORS KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING, AND IN MY CASE THEY DID! THROUGHOUT MY PARENT’S ENTIRE PREGNANCY EVERYTHING SEEMED TO BE GOING JUST FINE...UNTIL THAT SUMMER DAY WHEN I ENTERED THE WORLD AND WAS COMPLETELY BLUE. IF YOU’RE PICTURING A SMALL SMURF BABY, THEN THAT WOULD BE SOMEWHAT ACCURATE, MINUS THE ORANGE HAIR! IMMEDIATELY THE DOCTORS KNEW SOMETHING WAS NOT RIGHT AND ASSUMED IT WAS EITHER MY LUNGS OR HEART THAT WAS NOT FUNCTIONING CORRECTLY. I WAS BORN WITH WHAT IS CALLED “ TRANSPOSITION OF THE GREAT ARTERIES”. THIS HEART DEFECT OCCURS IN ABOUT 3% OF ALL CONGENITAL HEART DEFECTS AND THEREFORE IS PRETTY RARE. TO GIVE YOU A QUICK DEFINITION AND IDEA OF WHAT MY CONDITION IS HERE IS A SHORT EXPLANATION:
“TRANSPOSITION OF THE GREAT ARTERIES IS A CONGENITAL (PRESENT AT BIRTH) HEART DEFECT. DUE TO ABNORMAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE FETAL HEART DURING THE FIRST 8 WEEKS OF PREGNANCY, THE LARGE VESSELS THAT CARRY BLOOD FROM THE HEART TO THE LUNGS, AND TO THE BODY ARE IMPROPERLY CONNECTED. ESSENTIALLY, THE CONNECTIONS IN THE HEART ARE "SWAPPED."”.
“NORMALLY, OXYGEN-POOR (BLUE) BLOOD RETURNS TO THE RIGHT ATRIUM FROM THE BODY, TRAVELS TO THE RIGHT VENTRICLE, THEN IS PUMPED THROUGH THE PULMONARY ARTERY INTO THE LUNGS WHERE IT RECEIVES OXYGEN. OXYGEN-RICH (RED) BLOOD RETURNS TO THE LEFT ATRIUM FROM THE LUNGS, PASSES INTO THE LEFT VENTRICLE, AND THEN IS PUMPED THROUGH THE AORTA OUT TO THE BODY.IN TRANSPOSITION OF THE GREAT ARTERIES, THE AORTA IS CONNECTED TO THE RIGHT VENTRICLE, AND THE PULMONARY ARTERY IS CONNECTED TO THE LEFT VENTRICLE — THE OPPOSITE OF A NORMAL HEART'S ANATOMY.”
IF YOUR INTEREST HAS BEEN PIQUED AND YOU’D LIKE TO LEARN MORE PLEASE USE THE LINK BELOW TO DO SO!
SINCE WE ALL HAVE A LITTLE BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHY I LOOKED LIKE A SMURF WHEN I WAS BORN WE CAN MOVE FORWARD. SO NOT ONLY WERE MY PARENTS PROBABLY NERVOUS TO BE HAVING THEIR FIRST CHILD, NOW THEY HAD THE ADDED STRESS OF HAVING THEIR NEWBORN UNDERGO OPEN HEART SURGERY AT JUST 2 WEEKS OLD. EONS AGO, BACK IN THE 80S, THIS DEFECT WAS NOT FULLY CORRECTABLE. ( AT THE TIME, THE SURGERY THAT IS NOW PERFORMED ON BABIES BORN WITH THIS DEFECT, WAS CONSIDERED “EXPERIMENTAL”) MY PARENTS MADE THE TOUGH DECISION AND CHOSE TO HAVE THE DOCTORS PERFORM WHAT IS CALLED THE “MUSTARD PROCEDURE” TO HELP CORRECT MY HEART. THE LINK ABOVE PROVIDES FURTHER EXPLANATION OF THE MUSTARD PROCEDURE IF YOU’RE INTERESTED.
SO TO SPEED THINGS UP A LITTLE AT 2 WEEKS OLD I WAS TRANSFERRED TO SUNSET HOSPITAL IN LOS ANGELES TO BE MONITORED AND FOR THE DOCTORS THERE TO ULTIMATELY DETERMINE THEY WERE NOT COMFORTABLE PERFORMING THE MUSTARD PROCEDURE SURGERY ON SUCH A YOUNG BABY. SO NOT LONG AFTER THAT DECISION WAS MADE I WENT ON MY VERY FIRST HELICOPTER RIDE TO LOMA LINDA HOSPITAL IN LOMA LINDA, CA. THERE, AN AMAZING MAN BY THE NAME DR. BAILEY PERFORMED OPEN HEART SURGERY ON ME AND SAVED MY LIFE! I AM NOW 30 YEARS OLD WITH PERFECTLY PINK SKIN AND ABOUT TO HAVE MY FIRST CHILD VIA SURROGATE.
FUN FACT: IF DR. BAILEY’S NAME SOUNDS FAMILIAR, IT MAY BE BECAUSE HE IS WELL KNOWN FOR PERFORMING THE FIRST BABOON HEART TRANSPLANT.
NOW THAT THAT’S BEEN COVERED LETS MOVE ON TO WHEN I MET THE LOVE OF MY LIFE, MR. BRETT JOHN!