Quilt #109 Reed Family and Baby Jackson presented by Heather Welch and Kira Beard

 

Quilt #109 was presented to the Reed family by Heather Welch and Kira Beard. It was sewn by Mary Duke and friends.

Heather writes:

Jackson Reed was born on April 17, 2021 to Ashley and Andy Reed and his journey began in the NICU. He was born with a heart murmur and the doctors wanted to monitor him very closely for precaution. The first week home, the Reeds were back and forth to the pediatricians office.

Jackson was born with a Bicuspid Aortic Valve (BAV) with Aortic Stenosis. Most people are born with three cusps (or flaps) in the aortic valve of the heart, Jackson was only born with two. The aortic valve controls the flow of blood  from the left ventricle (chamber) to the aorta, the main artery deliver blood to your body.

The flaps weren't opening fully constricting his blood flow, and it progressively got worse after he was born. Due to this, he needed a procedure to send a balloon up into the heart chambers to tear the flaps and allow more blood flow. In doing this there will be some kind of leakage and with the tears, he will need surgery at some point in his life.

In June, the Aortic Stenosis had gotten worse and it was time to do the balloon procedure. On June 17th, his 2 month birthday, the procedure was successfully completed. The doctors went through a blood vessel in the leg then shot up into the narrow heart valve. Once the tube had reached the valve, they inflated and deflated the balloon, widening the valve opening. There was no leakage at all and luckily this meant he will not need to have open heart surgery until he is older.

Jackson has recently had some gastrointestinal issues. One doctor state that the boy, "doesn't know how to poop!"

If that wasn't enough stress for the Reeds, on June 29th, big brother Jarrett fell off the monkey bars and broke his upper arm. Luckily, Jarrett is recovering and back to his playful self again.

Jackson has been getting bigger and growing into a healthy boy! Jarrett is so in love and has taken on the role as a big brother by helping take care and loving on his little brother. The Reeds could not image life without their sassy little redhead Jackson.

Heather Welch who presented the quilt is a former Duncan Quilt recipient. She requested a quilt for the Reeds and Mary Duke put together this beautiful quilt with blue hearts. There is such love in the stitches for the Reeds and their sweet baby boy.