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Left Heart Syndrome Research Paper

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Just 2 weeks after he was born, my cousin, Andy Hernandez Jr., had to have his first surgery on his heart. But with his condition, that wouldn’t be his last. Years passing by and still having to go to the hospital. Check ups and surgeries would be his life, for now. For a long time, Andy wasn’t able to be a "normal kid." Going to the hospital was where he spent a "1/3 of his life," his mom, Melinda Hernandez, said. They were constantly traveling to the nearest children's hospital which was 4 hours away, until they finally decided to move closer, to be on the waiting list for a new heart. Andy was telling me about his life at the hospital. "Its annoying," smiling as he says it, "there's always people walking in and out of room. Nurses and doctors, always around me." Its tough being in a hospital for so long. There's no way to be a kid when all you can hear is the …show more content…

It’s a birth defect which affects the normal blood flow to the heart. As the baby is in the whom, developing, the left side of the heart doesn’t form correctly. " It wasn’t very often then but they’re seeing it with more people who live in Mexico or live by the border," Melinda explains to me. I asked Andy what the hardest thing about dealing with his condition," The hospital. Always being in a room and not being able to do anything." Luckily, he's now able to enjoy some of the things that couldn’t do like play baseball, basketball, ride his go-cart or go hunting. But for his parents, knowing that their only child would be sick for the rest of his life was difficult. "I was shocked when they told me that he had HLHS. No body knew till the day after that he had it." Melinda explains. Being told that their child wouldn’t live for very long, they were devastated. But with great faith, they didn’t give up on the doctors or God. He's now 13 years old and living. Everyday they are blessed to see Andy waking up in the

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