The farm

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For Santi's latest trip, (His forth flight since he first started flying 2 months ago, if you're keeping track!) We took him to visit my grandparents in East Texas. They have a lovely farm, about 180+ acres, brimming with little boy adventures. There are tractors, motorcycles and a 4 wheeler with no brakes. Acres and acres of thick woods to stomp around in and several gardens which he plowed with his toy tractor.

Within 5 minutes of being on the farm Papa had Santi and I up in a tractor cruising the property. I was pretty sure Santi's head was going to explode with excitement. Santi started saying a new word after that, "Papa!" "Papa!" He fell in love with my Papa. They bonded instantly. Later in the week Papa took him on the riding lawn mower and fed him freshly picked wild berries.

I lived in Houston as a kid, a 4 hour drive from the farm and my mom would take us there for almost every school holiday and a few weeks every summer. It is such a special place for me. It is quite and calm, rich in nature and enchantment. Green and lush. Seeing Santi here, enjoying the company of grandmother and papa was simply beautiful.

First flight!!

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Taking Santi on his first flight is a HUGE deal for us. His cardiologists originally said he wouldn't be able to fly until after his third surgery. That date is still TBD. A few months ago we asked his cardiologist what he thought about Santi flying. His response was, "sure, why not!" Wait. What?! We sat on this idea for almost 6 months before we booked his first flight. To Las Vegas!

When the day came, we were nervous for his health. Would he maintain his blood oxygen saturation at 30,000ft? We were nervous to travel with a toddler. Would he have a tantrum on the plane? Would he scream for the duration of the flight?

Lucky for us, Santi did amazing. He loved flying. He loved Las Vegas. That city is made for toddlers. He was in awe of the lights and the larger than life decor in all the hotels.

Abe's family met us there, including our Nephew Ricky, who will be one in April. Santi is such a sweet big cousin. He loves his baby cousin.

CHD awareness month!

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February is CHD awareness month.

CHD stands for Congenital Heart Defect. HLHS is rare, it "comprises 4-8% of all congenital heart defects. It occurs in up to four out of every 10,000 live births. HLHS appears slightly more often in boys than in girls. Beyond family history, there are no clear risk factors for it, and no known way to prevent it."

It's funny to think that with everything we've been through with Santiago, (two open heart surgeries, a total of 7 weeks at CHLA, 4 months on oxygen) we rarely think of him as different or as having a heart defect. We rarely think of "all he's been through!" He is SO normal (whatever that is?!). He is just a charming little guy who's almost two years old.

I love sharing his story and instilling hope in other families. Santi is proof that modern medicine is marvelous. He is proof that you can still be a regular kid, even with a rare CHD like HLHS.

Santi overload is coming! 28 days of Santiago Banks in honor of CHD awareness!

Echocardiogram

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Last month, before we left for El Paso, Santi had a sedated echocardiogram at Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego. I didn't post about it because we didn't have a follow up with the cardiologist after the echo. So really, there was nothing to post about.

We will meet with Santi's cardiologist next week to get the results of the echo, find out how his overall heart function is doing and maybe, hopefully get a date range for his third surgery, the Fontan.