Christina's Omaha Heart Crusade

I would like to introduce you to Christina. She is a little spitfire with beautiful personality. Before Christina was born, she was diagnosed with Trisomy 18 (AKA T18 or Edwards syndrome) which means she had three copies of her 18th chromosome instead of the normal two. This condition can cause; low birth weight, clenched fists, rocker feet, cleft lip and/or palate, kidney and bladder abnormalities, difficulties feeding/swallowing, breathing problems and congenital heart disease, just to name a few. Prognosis for children is poor and MANY medical professionals refuse treatment during pregnancy and after birth. Christina is a fighter and even though she wasn't expected to be born alive and then not expected to come close to seeing her first birthday, she is now TWO! God gave us  a miracle.  Christina has had many bumps during her two years. She has had a feeding tube since she was seven (7) weeks and in May she had a procedure to prevent her from refluxing, which would cause MANY bouts of aspiration pneumonia and MANY MORE trips to the hospital.  As she has grown, her bladder and kidneys have not been able to keep up resulting in recurrent UTI's and stones.  She also is prone to seizures, but is on medication for both conditions.  Now to the reason for this page. Christina was diagnosed with a large hole between the two bottom chambers of her heart known as a VSD, double outlet right ventricle (DORV), mitral stenosis and pulmonary stenosis. Under normal circumstances, it would have already been fixed but with the T18 no cardiac surgeon would take her, until now! Thanks to Dr. Jim Hammel and his team at Omaha children's hospital, Christina will be able to get the care she needs and deserves.  This will be a very long and difficult time for her and her family.  Christina and her mom will be heading to Omaha for the duration of her care while Christina's dad will travel between Fort Wayne, Indiana and Omaha, Nebraska as time and finances allow leaving Christina's siblings and grandparents at home in Indiana.  We are providing this account for the MANY friends and family members who have been interested in helping our family.  These funds will be used for basic living expenses while in Omaha, traveling expenses between Indiana and Nebraska as well as covering expenses at home while both parents are in Omaha.  We thank you for your support and for sharing Christina's Crusade with others. God is changing the view of T18 one child, one family, one doctor, one share at a time. Please like and share Christina's Crusade - Life With T18 on Facebook too.