Elisha Enrique Ramirez: 2010

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Happy Birthday Son

Dear Sweet Son,

My baby boy, you were born 1 year ago today...right now you were still kicking around in my belly. I guess you have two birthdays today, you have an earthly birthday and a heavenly birthday. How lucky are you! Me and your Daddy miss you so much. I fell in love with you the moment I found out about you, and my love just grows stronger everyday. You mean so much to so many people, I am such a proud mother. You gave me a great joy, and you changed me. I know you and your sister are having a grand ole time up there...I am sure she is taking care of you. You have another brother and sister now, their names are Gavin and Paige. I see some of you in them, and it makes me oh so happy. Gosh I miss you so much, I think often about what milestones you would be making, you'd be starting to walk right now...and saying mommy Im sure..hehe. I dont get much sleep anymore witht he twins here...maybe you can have a talk with God for me and see if he can help them sleep better at night...*wink wink* ! There is not a day that goes by that I dont think about you. I remember everything about you, I can still feel how your naked lil body felt on my chest...how you held me close before I said goodbye. I am going to be sending up some balloons for you today, make sure that you are looking out for them. Elisha honey I wish you a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY, you will never be forgotten and you are loved by us all...and very soon we will be together again. Hugs and kisses baby boy....MOMMY LOVES YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What is Anencephaly?

Anencephaly is a neural tube defect like Spina Bifida, but instead of he neural tube not closing in the spine it fails to close in the cephalic portion or the top of the spinal column. When this happens the brain and the top of the head cannot complete forming. So the top of the head is exposed openly to the brain. With Anencephaly there is typically not much more brain than a brain stem, sometimes more. The skull and skin does not form above the eyes, ears and back of the neck. Anencephaly is one of the most sever nerual tube defects, and there is no cure, and is a disorder that is "incompatible with life". Babies who make it to term will pass away within minutes or hours after birth. Most babies do not cry and are unable to suck or swallow to eat.

Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD)

The septum is a wall that separates the heart's left and right sides. Septal defects are sometimes called a "hole" in the heart. A defect between the heart's two lower chambers (the ventricles) is called a ventricular septal defect (VSD).
When there is a large opening between the ventricles, a large amount of oxygen-rich (red) blood from the heart's left side is forced through the defect into the right side. Then it's pumped back to the lungs, even though it's already been refreshed with oxygen. This is inefficient, because already-oxygenated blood displaces blood that needs oxygen. This means the heart, which must pump more blood, may enlarge from the added work. High blood pressure may occur in the lungs' blood vessels because more blood is there. Over time, this increased pulmonary hypertension may permanently damage the blood vessel walls.
If the opening between the ventricles is small, it doesn't strain the heart. In that case, the only abnormal finding is a loud murmur.