TOF Warrior Princess

On this day in 1944 at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Dr. Alfred Blalock, Dr. Helen Taussig, and Surgical Technician Vivien Thomas performed the first surgery to treat tetralogy of Fallot, a that robs the blood of oxygen & is often signaled by a bluish skin tone. Groundbreaking at its time, the procedure came to be known as the Blalock-Thomas-Taussig Shunt. ❤️

Well it’s been quite a while. We have had a very busy year. Zelda has been playing sports and started Pre-K! She’s growing so fast and is as bubbly as ever.

She had her tenth heart cath on Tuesday, September 6th. What the cath showed was that her surgically altered PAs are holding up strong and staying open. Her valve is not narrowed or leaking and the conduit is holding up beautifully. Her heart looks the best it’s ever looked! That was the highlight of the day. Dr Salazar did an amazing job. “Anatomically she looks better than she ever has before.” Was said in regards to her heart. Thanks be to God.

One finding was that her pulmonary pressures were significantly elevated and she has been diagnosed once again with pulmonary hypertension. They tested her on nitrous oxide as well as oxygen during the cath and her response was good; pressures never reached “normal” levels but they did improve in response to the meds. So the game plan at this moment is to try to manage the pulmonary hypertension for the long term. She’s started sildenafil again every 8 hours and we are monitoring her closely. I am hoping and praying that the sildenafil works how they want it to so she doesn’t have to be back on continuous flow oxygen.

Dr Brown was very impressed with how her anatomy looks. This is why the hypertension is so concerning because it is not a direct result from her narrowed arteries. He did say, “We’ve always talked about giving Zelda every chance we can and I think with all the procedures and all the surgeries she’s been through I think she is set up the best she’s ever been and now we need to just make her quality of life and everything as good as we possibly can” So we are taking things day by day and making sure our babe is happy and as healthy as can be! She’s been cleared to participate in activities that she can tolerate and she loves her extracurriculars. 🥰 I know God has big plans for this little punkin pie and she is going to defy the odds! 🖤

Please keep her in your prayers and send us all the positive vibes. We are so super grateful for all of the support and love.

🚨Big news for Zeldy!!🚨

✨She has been accepted to Make-A-Wish. ✨

Unfortunately due to covid precautions and vaccination requirements her original wish of Disney is looking like it may not be possible 😞.

However she also has been wanting:

1. A fluffy cat 🐈
2. A shopping spree 💰
3. An iPad 📱
4. A backyard fort 🎠🗼🏰

So there are definitely other avenues we will be exploring until we hear the final verdict on Disney.

We are so excited this little wild child will get to feel so special as she is so deserving. 🖤 Her health has been amazing since her last surgery and we are almost one year out with NO procedures. We go back in April to most likely schedule her tenth heart cath.

As always, she loves getting her “mails” so if anyone wants to send her little Valentine cards, CHD Awareness Cards, (basically anything heart themed) or postcards she would be on cloud nine. ⛅️9️⃣ {No pressure for anything extra, just some mail addressed to her, little stinker.}

Her mailing address is:

Zelda Regalado
PO BOX 7
Old Ocean, TX 77463

We are so grateful for you all being involved in this little lamb’s life and thank you so much for all the constant thoughts, prayers, positive vibes, love & light.



💔💪🏼🌺