Four month old Amelia Rossow looks and acts like a healthy baby, but her congenital heart defect brings to light a different reality.
When she was 3 weeks old, Amelia was diagnosed with tetralogy of fallot. There are four problems with her heart but the most serious was her pulmonary artery, which was completely blocked.
 submitted Katie and Derek Rossow, with Amelia, at the University of Minnesota surgery floor. Advertisement |
The bike run will be held Aug. 22 with a fee to enter. Participants can register at Cowgals Saloon in Great Bend from 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
Food and prizes will be given away during the run. A bank account has been set up for the family at State Bank and Trust in Wahpeton.
“You don’t have to own a motorcycle to take part,” said Natalie Johnson, owner of Cowgals. “Anyone can take part and drive whatever vehicle they want.”
The couple’s emotions have suffered a roller coaster ride throughout their baby’s illness. They originally brought Amelia in to see a doctor on a Friday, just three weeks after she was born. No one had detected any problems with the baby’s heart before this time. Amelia always had cold hands and feet and at times her coloring was grey, Katie Rossow said. Malkasian put a monitor on the baby’s foot to check her oxygen reading. It showed Amelia had an oxygen saturation of 45 percent. A normal saturation level is between 90-100 percent.
The couple was set up with an appointment for a specialist on Monday, but Malkasian wasn’t happy with the long wait. She called the Rossows Friday night and told them to bring the baby to Meritcare Hospital in Fargo right away in the morning. Malkasian had called ahead and let the hospital know they were coming.
The next morning Amelia had an echo cardiogram taken of her heart and in a short amount of time the Rossows had their world turned upside down. As doctors were describing their baby’s problems, a Life Flight pilot was asking questions on how much everyone weighed to make room for one of the parents on the helicopter.
“We’re not going to Minneapolis, we’re going home,” a distraught young mother said. Rossow was in complete shock and couldn’t comprehend the seriousness of the situation.
The Rossows, both 23, thought their calm baby had an exceptionally sweet disposition. She never cried or raised a fuss, but had Amelia been prone to crying it would have exhausted her and worked her small heart too much. The blood was basically pooling in her heart and only providing half of the oxygen needed for a person to survive. Even though she was so sick, her mother soon realized something important – their little baby was a fighter.
Katie and Amelia were airlifted by Life Flight to Minneapolis. Derek Rossow drove home and packed some bags to meet his family at the University of Minnesota pediatric intensive care unit.
Amelia was sedated before the trip, incubated and received a central line. After she arrived at the hospital she went into respiratory distress. Once the respirator was corrected she went into cardiac distress.
At 3 weeks of age, Amelia underwent surgery to open her pulmonary artery. Surgeons used a shunt to open the artery. She will undergo another surgery sometime this winter to fix the other defects of her heart.
“They are trying to strengthen and stabilize her. Doctors want her to be 22 pounds before her next surgery,” Rossow said. “But if her oxygen saturation falls below 70 she will need immediate surgery.”
In the meantime, the Amelia sees her pediatric doctor once a week and a pediatric cardiologist once a month.
Now they are home with Amelia and the bills are coming in. Katie carries the insurance for the family. She works at a nursing home in Wahpeton, while Derek Rossow farms with his father. She said Amelia has already reached her limit for her insurance policy. Because the baby has reached her maximum, Rossow applied for medical assistance to help cover medical bills. This is a secondary insurance for the family and has helped ease their minds.
“The bill came in for the ambulance ride from Meritcare to Hector,” Rossow said. “It was $6,000 and my insurance would only cover $2,500. If we didn’t have this medical assistance, I don’t know what we would do.”
Katie and Derek Rossow both said they can never say thanks enough for all the support they’ve received. They want people to know their daughter loves to smile and laugh. She got her first tooth a week ago and rolled over for the first time last Tuesday, Rossow said. “She is so strong and happy,” Rossow said.
Katie knows this strength has to continue if her baby has any hope.
But hope has sustained them so far and hope, as well as Amelia’s skilled surgeons, will help fix their baby’s heart.
Nicole wrote on Aug 27, 2009 5:43 PM:
Nicole
perfectbrokenhearts.wordpress.com "
sarah wrote on Aug 17, 2009 11:41 PM:
love your cousin,
sarah "
Rachelle Ross wrote on Aug 17, 2009 10:34 PM: