I'm Lori Blanchard and our sweet granddaughter Baby Zoey needs life-saving heart surgery! She has a condition called Patent Ductus Arteriosus or PDA. Shelby will need extra help with bills so she can take care of Zoey. Also, recently her car needs much-needed repairs to be able to get back and forth to the hospital. Please help if you can, please help whatever you can spare, every dollar will help. GofundMe is great but If you don't know how to use GoFundMe, my address is 610 Frayne Place, Yakima, WA 98901. I will send all cards unopened to Shelby highlight Baby Zoey on the back. God bless you all. Thank you so much.

PDA Explained

Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in a baby's heart is a congenital defect where a temporary blood vessel, the ductus arteriosus, fails to close after birth, leading to abnormal blood flow from the body's main artery (aorta) to the lungs' artery (pulmonary artery). This keeps the lungs from being bypassed, forcing the heart and lungs to work harder and potentially causing symptoms like rapid breathing, poor feeding, and poor growth. PDA is most common in premature babies, and small PDAs may close on their own, while larger ones may require medical treatment.

What is the ductus arteriosus?

During fetal development: The ductus arteriosus is a normal blood vessel that allows blood to bypass the lungs, as a fetus gets oxygen from the placenta through the umbilical cord.

After birth: The ductus arteriosus is supposed to naturally close within a few days of birth as the baby starts breathing on their own, causing the lungs to become functional.

What happens in a PDA?

Failure to close: In a PDA, this vessel does not close, creating a connection between the aorta and the pulmonary artery.