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san antonio – A local family is sharing their story of a child diagnosed with congenital heart disease as a way to encourage other families to focus on resilience.

Colin and Sarah Young said they were excited to welcome their second child.

“I had ultrasounds almost every week until she was born. And every time I had an ultrasound, she looked amazing and beautiful. So I had no idea what was going on.” said Sarah Young.

But a problem arose seconds after the child was born on July 23.

Baby Eleanor was purple. Doctors tried giving her oxygen, but it didn’t work, so she was rushed to the NICU.

“He was five days old when we held him for the first time,” Sarah Young said.

Dr. Jennifer Johnson, a pediatric cardiologist at Pediatric Cardiology in San Antonio, and her team of experts diagnosed Eleanor with transposition of the great arteries (TGA), a congenital abnormality of the heart in which two major arteries are in abnormal positions. did.

“Congenital heart disease actually occurs in 1% to 2% of all pregnancies,” Johnson says.

Texas-mandated newborn screening can help diagnose this type of defect.

“Most of these children have oxygen saturations at the lower end of normal,” Johnson says. “And that’s because of newborn screening, where all babies across the state of Texas are required to undergo newborn screening before coming home from the neonatal unit.”

Johnson said it can sometimes be detected before birth. But she always assures her parents that it’s not something that could have been prevented.

“I feel like you’re just scared and you’ve blacked out. It’s been hard missing Colin and I’m waiting for his call,” Sarah Young said. described the roller coaster ride she was on after giving birth.

But Eleanor is now six months old and has hit all the milestones, and they hope her story will inspire other parents who are feeling the weight of their child’s diagnosis. .

“For other families, considering themselves in a situation like this, everything in life is just a season. And, you know, this may not be the best and most exciting season of your life. But you can still get out of it, and there’s joy,” Sarah Young said.


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