difficult rural roads , and home visit to provide support for Lauren as she replaced the tube .”
Today Theodore is going ahead developmentally and physically in leaps and bounds . He had his second heart surgery – a bidirectional Glenn procedure at age 6 months and the postoperative period was not all smooth sailing . He got through that , but was then diagnosed
with an allergy to cows ’ milk . After discussion with Tara Chaplow ( the Waikato DHB community paediatric dietician ) Theodore was changed to soya infant formula and a dairy free diet and he has never looked back . He is now crawling everywhere and into everything !! He has a wicked smile and a very cheeky personality . He loves pulling his sisters hair .
Theodore is still seen monthly by his GP in Taumarunui and monthly by the local district nurse Sara McIntyre but the specialist neonatal homecare nurse no longer needs to be involved . He will be monitored throughout childhood by the specialist cardiac team at Starship Hospital and he will require further cardiac surgery .
Both his mum Lauren and dad Bernard are absolutely in awe of where he has come from and the happy , healthy farm boy he is now .
Vasiliy
Vasiliy ’ s story
Vasiliy is a six month old infant who lives with his mum Anna , dad Sergey and four siblings in Taumarunui . Vasiliy was also diagnosed antenatally with a complex heart anomaly ( double inlet left ventricle ) and as such was a planned delivery at Auckland Hospital . After birth he transferred immediately to Starship ’ s paediatric intensive care unit where he underwent open heart surgery ( Norwood procedure ). He remained in hospital for five weeks and then discharged home to his family in Taumarunui .
Recently Vasiliy had his bidirectional Glenn procedure at Starship Hospital . He has come through surgery well and is at home with his family . While it is very early days , Vasiliy is recovering well . He is fully breastfeeding and the nursing team are watching his weight closely . He will be seen on alternate weeks by his GP Dr Anna Teata and one of the clinical nurse specialists in the neonatal homecare team . District nurse Sara McIntyre will also visit weekly until he is well on the road to recovery .
On behalf of everyone involved with Vasiliy and Theodore we would like to thank the Angel Flight pilots who donated their time , flying hours and fuel , and the Earth Angels who met and drove these infants and mothers to Starship Hospital . Also a big thank you to Ardmore airport who kindly waivered their landing fees for these flights . The generosity of everyone who
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