Andrew was born a happy, seemingly healthy full-term baby.  But when he was about 24 hours old, he started panting, like he had just run a very long race.  At first, the nurses seemed to think it was something minor- but when they brought a cardiologist in for further evaluation, we knew it was something much more serious.  He was immediately transferred to the NICU at Children's Hospital Wisconsin- Milwaukee.  There he was diagnosed with a coarctation of the aorta, which meant that his aorta was too narrow to allow enough blood to be pumped to his lower body. He underwent open heart surgery to widen his aorta (& also close a VSD) when he was eight days old. It was very scary but Andrew's surgeon met with us before the procedure to go over what would happen & Kim, one of the nurses, came back regularly to keep us posted on how he was doing . We were told that Andrew's surgeon was world-class and he had the best care possible- and that was certainly true.  He pulled through it like a champ & his prognosis was very good. Andrew came home when he was three weeks old.  Today, Andrew is doing awesome.  You would never guess by looking at him that he had such a rough start.  He is perfectly healthy and should not need to have any further surgery.  Thanks to the great team at Children's Hospital, Andrew will be able to live a normal, full life like any other little boy.

Thank you for visiting Andrew's Fundraising Page. Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to make a contribution to my fundraising efforts. In the event you do not wish to donate online, you may forward your donation made out to "Children's Hospital"  to me at 453 Winding Waters Way, De Pere, WI 54115 no later than September 13th. Many thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!

Sincerely,

T. J. Sorensen