Say Hello to Heart Hero Edward! Edward is the son of Lisa and Ed and little brother to sisters Emma and Hayden. The Anibal family lives in Omaha, Nebraska. Edward is celebrating his second ‘heartiversary’ on September 14, 2013 and we are pleased to have him as our Heart Hero of the Month!

Edward was born in December 2010 and his congenital heart defects were not discovered until he was about 18 hours old. The Anibal’s pediatrician heard a ‘murmur’, identified it as a VSD (Ventricular Septal Defect) and explained how ‘common’ VSDs were and that they shouldn’t worry, as likely the hole would close on its own. Lisa and Ed noticed symptoms (labored & rapid breathing) immediately and at five days old, Edward began medication. At his first cardiology appointment, a moderate VSD was confirmed.

Edward’s first four months of life were pretty typical of an infant. Lots of eating, sleeping, weight gain and doting on by his big sisters. At four months old, everything changed. Edward began to lose weight, was only able to eat one to two ounces before tiring, had approximately 25 or more feedings per day and was experiencing extremely labored breathing. The Anibals began fortifying his milk, yet he continued to fail to gain weight.

In July 2011, Edward underwent a diagnostic catheterization to explore his VSD (to obtain accurate measurements and resistance) to determine if open heart surgery would be required. Although the catheterization documented a membranous VSD that did fill the right ventricle adequately enough to see the entire chamber with flow into the pulmonary artery, the hemodynamic findings were not consistent with a VSD that should be compromising to him. Edward was then admitted to the hospital to rule out any other possibilities for his failure to thrive.

Over the course of the next two months, doctors ruled out anemia, thyroid issues, gastrointestinal issues, a laryngeal cleft, and cystic fibrosis. Edward’s medical team continued to believe that the size of his VSD could not be the sole reason for his failure to thrive; his parents’ intuition said the opposite.

Lisa and Ed vigilantly advocated for Edward’s heart to be fixed. In early September, the medical team received the confirmation they needed to ‘prove’ Edward’s heart was the culprit; in his latest echocardiogram, his heart was enlarged. On September 14, 2011 Edward underwent open heart surgery. It was discovered during surgery that Edward had, in fact, two holes in his heart. The VSD and an ASD (atrial septal defect). The combination of the two explained why he was experiencing congenital heart failure symptoms.

Today, this amazing Heart Hero is a rambunctious 2 ½ year old, with an amazing smile, sense of humor and zest for life! The Anibals continue to celebrate his ‘heartiversary’ every year and also organize a month of random acts of kindness to show their gratitude for Edward’s heart health.