Team Baby Karson

From the Kirchners: We had planned to post this photo a few weeks back, but wanted to confirm baby's gender because this pregnancy had been so different than Ashley’s last. We have always been leery about posting pregnancies, not out of lack of joy and excitement, but because literally a million little things have to go right during them. We had an ultrasound at 22 weeks and everything was fine but the baby was at a funny angle so they asked us to come back and finish it at 28 weeks. The ultrasound was going as planned but seemed to be taking a little longer than usual. After several techs came in to try to get the right angle, we heard one say “the one side of the heart looks small.” Our doctor told us that something was wrong with the baby’s heart and that we would have to go to Sanford in Sioux Falls as that is the only place in SD that has a fetal/peds cardiologist. Once there, we learned that our baby has a congenital heart defect known as hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Our world was flipped upside down. Trust me when I say this, ignorance is bliss. Before our diagnosis we had never heard of this condition and now we were going to have a child with it. We wish it was back to where we didn’t know what it was again. Google is full of sad stuff, but for those of you interested it also has a lot of scientific information on the topic so you can give it a go if you want. Just be warned. For the rest of you, here is the cliff notes version. The short answer is the left side of his heart and aorta are so underdeveloped that they aren’t functional. His due date is December 21, but we will be sent off to either Denver or Ann Arbor (two hospitals that are very good with this condition) around December 5th to start preparing for delivery. Once he is born, he will have his first of three open heart surgeries around day 4-5 to reroute his blood flow and remodel his heart. The first surgery, the Norwood, is extremely high risk but Denver and Ann Arbor are roughly 90% successful with the procedure. Following the Norwood we will spend multiple weeks in the ICU. He will have a second surgery around 4-6 months followed by another long ICU stay. Finally his 3rd surgery will be sometime between 18-24 months along with numerous trips to a cardiologist if everything goes as planned. During this period we will have to be very cautious as his immune system will be very weak. The long term outlook for him can range from very bleak to basically living a normal childhood and early adulthood. The number of cases that make it to adulthood are low but rising steadily thanks to improved treatments and breakthroughs. We have been dealt a rough hand but there are certainly worse things to be diagnosed with and there CAN be positive outcomes when it is all said and done. This isn’t something that anyone ever plans for so we thank you all for your love, support, and understanding during what will likely be a long and difficult journey for us as a family. Love, The Kirchners From Team K: Where to start? Ashley and Josh are 2 of the most amazing people anyone could have the honor to know.  Life often deals us cards we never see coming, and they have been dealt a doozy... But we will not let them go through this alone.  If there's one thing we can do, it's ease the financial burden this family has ahead. They would do anything for anyone and now is our time to be there for them. At the heart of it all, we ask for any donations possible as this soon to be family of 4 heads into the unknown. With both parents working in the education field & a young son at home, they have many obstacles ahead. There are multiple surgeries, trips and hotel stays into the future & the length of many of these stays are unknown. Our hopes are to raise enough so this family can focus 100% on Baby K.  Love,  Team Baby K