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On September 5, 2002, Angela and Adam Crews gave birth to a beautiful baby girl they named Kirstin! When she was six months old, Kirstin’s parents took her to the pediatrician.
She was perfect in every way EXCEPT she was so very tiny. At her appointment, her pediatrician confirmed that her weight was significantly below average and a slight heart murmur was also discovered. After much testing, Kirstin was diagnosed with Pulmonary Atresia.
This condition happens when a child is born without pulmonary arteries that connect her heart to her lungs. Pulmonary Atresia is extremely hard to detect and without corrective surgery, this condition will seriously impact her development. So as an 8 month old baby, Kirstin underwent her first open heart surgery. Dr. Eric Ceithaml performed the surgery and her cardiologist was Dr. Jose Ettedgui. Together these doctors continually monitor Kirstin’s health as carefully they watch her growth and measure its impact on her heart.
At age three, Kirstin’s first re-placement arteries started to fail. A second open-heart surgery was needed. The second surgery was not an easy task for her parents. “Now we knew what to expect with Kirstin’s surgery, but, at the same time, we were continually amazed how wonderful her doctors and nurses made us feel….it was like family.”
With two surgeries behind her, Kirstin will most likely undergo one more open heart surgery around age 13 depending on her growth. When her parents look at their beautiful and healthy daughter, they give thanks to the warm, caring and talented staff at Wolfson Children’s Hospital and God’s grace for their daughter’s bright future.
Today she is a happy seven year-old who loves being with her three brothers; CJ, Cody and Drew. Yet, when you are the only girl in the family, sometimes it means that you need some special “girls only experiences.” Kirstin was selected as a princess of Tess Granfield, Miss Jacksonville Outstanding Teen 2009. As such, she has been an advocate of “Tess’s Teddys” program, which provides new loving bears to the patients hospitalized at Wolfson’s Children’s Hosptial. Go Kirstin, You Rock! |
