Help the Schwartzenberger family!

What started out as a normal 20 week ultrasound where we were going to see our baby for the first time has impacted and changed our lives dramatically. We got news that day that our baby didn’t have one chamber of their heart or that it was very underdeveloped and wouldn’t ever form properly and would not be able to function. We were referred on to a local specialist for an echocardiogram to confirm the diagnosis. After the echo, the diagnosis was confirmed and we were referred to a pediatric cardiologist in Fargo who then referred us on to Mayo Clinic and Children’s Minnesota with a diagnosis of hypoplastic right heart syndrome with double inlet left ventricle. We are now a little over 32 weeks. It’s been a bumpy ride. We made our first trip to Minneapolis and now have a plan in place for when the baby is born. Megan will have to relocate at 36 weeks (beginning of November) and stay there until the baby is born. Once the baby is born, it will undergo the Norwood procedure within a couple days of being born. The expected time in the hospital after surgery is 1 1/2 to 2 months. They will then hopefully be able to come home until they need their second surgery at around 4-6 months old. It will definitely be a long, tough journey for our family as we will be split up with Jonah commuting back and forth from Bismarck (where our other 2 children will be) to Minneapolis to see mom and baby (which is six hours of travel). We put all our faith in God and know he will take care of us. We truly appreciate all your thoughts and prayers and are blessed to have such a great support system. God bless.