Sophie was born on January 30th, 2011 with a rare congenital heart defect "Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries". In CCTGA both ventricles (pumping chambers) of the heart are reversed. Fortunately, the arteries are reversed too, so the heart actually "corrects" the abnormal development, thus the name "congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries." However, CCTGA is a complex malformation in which the heart is far from being normal. Congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (CCTGA) is a rare heart defect. Only 0.5 to 1 percent of all people with heart defects have CCTGA. This means there are about 5,000 to 10,000 people in the United States with this condition.
Sophie had surgery in January 2013 at Boston Children's to place a pulmonary artery band. This banding assisted with getting the left chamber stronger for her double switch. In April of 2013 Sophie started having heart block. Her cardiologist in Minneapolis suggested sending Sophie's information onto the team in Boston for review to see if she was ready for the double switch. The team in boston recommended that Sophie have her double switch sooner than later. In June of 2013 when we arrived in Boston for Sophie's exams before her surgery it was found that she was indeed in complete heart block. This meant that when they went in to do the double switch they would also need to put in a pacemaker. June 6th, 2013 Sophie underwent her double switch surgery w/ a pacemaker.
Double switch operation. Surgeons redirect blood flow from one side of the heart to the other. The heart's major arteries are also switched during this operation. This corrects the circulation so that the heart's left side serves the body and the right side serves the lungs. This is a very complex operation and is usually performed in infants and children.
22 days post surgery we were home with Sophie and attended the Heartbeat 5000 walk the very next day! She is living a normal life. She brings alot of SUGAR and a little spice to our everyday! We are seen at Minneapolis Children's Heart Clinic every 6 months.