Heart Warriors

by Adams, Amanda Rose; Burke, Redmond P., M.D.

• ISBN13: 9781933016801
• ISBN10: 1933016809
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-04-24
• Publisher: Behler Pubns

Summary

"Anyone who has ever suffered grief, in any form, will benefit from this passionately honest book. Grief is Amanda Adams' constant companion, both her oppressor and her guide, as she gropes her way through a heart-rending experience."Kristin Henderson, author of While They're at War: The True Story of American Families on the Homefront Five months pregnant, Amanda Adams and her husband were given two abysmal choices regarding her pregnancy: force her baby to fight for his life through countless invasive and dangerous surgeries, or perform a late term abortion. Despite the fact that Liam was missing half his heart, Amanda chose life. Amanda's emotional plate was full as she found herself redefining the usual expectations a mother has for her child. Instead of wondering where he'd go to college, she wondered if he would survive his first birthday. The eventual acceptance of Amanda's grief helped her accept her new role as a powerful advocate. Over the course of seven years, together, as a family, Amanda and her husband helped Liam endure twelve heart surgeries, each time taking him to the brink of death. Heart Warriorsis Amanda's personal and emotional story that initiates a powerful dialogue about infant mortality and hope. Amanda Adamsis a "Heart Mom" and a powerful voice within the coronary heart disease (CHD) community by working closely with cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, and nurses from Harvard University, Baylor University, University of Southern California, University of Illinois, and CU Boulder Medical. She founded two CHD organizations, organizes medical conferences for Hypoplastic Right Hearts, attends medical advisory board meetings and national chapter presidents meetings for the Children's Heart Foundation, and chaired the Congenital Heart Walk in Colorado. As a pioneer of CHD advocacy, she is also firmly rooted in the social network of CHD parents and survivors.

Table of Contents

Heart Warriors

In the Thick of It

Blissful Ignorance

My Death and Resurrection

Areas of Specialization

A Baby's Story

Three Choices

To Live or Die in LA

What I Never Expected When I Was Expecting

A Simple Plan

Dear Random Stranger, Please Don't Diagnose My Child

Catalyst

Back So Soon?

One Angry Mother

Picking Up a Fourth Passenger in the Game of Life

What are You Waiting For?

Living with Anticipatory Grief

Informed Consent

A Change of Plans

Visiting Hours

The House that Love Built

Promises, Promises

Gallows Humor at the Tower of Bablefish

The Heartland

Little Losses

Never Better, or It's Complicated

Apples to Oranges, Cuts to Bruises

A Mortal Coil

Jenny McCarthy is Not the Anti-Christ and Oprah is not Our Fairy Godmother

How to Change the World in Six Excruciatingly Difficult Steps

Death in the Family

Not My Life to Take

William (Liam) James Adams, You've Got A Lot of Names

We're All In This Together

Fighting An Invisible Disease

All the World is a Stage, but Grief Has Five

We Don't Know What We Don't Know

Me and the Virgin Mary on a Tightrope

Psychiatry, 5 Cents

A Man on a Mission

Paling around with Pandora

And the Beat Goes On for Now

The Last Word, an Epilogue for my Ladies, or What to Expect when You're Expecting the Worst

Heart Warrior's Field Manual-TOC: History

Lay of the Land

Glossary of Native Terms (or words Microsoft refuses to acknowledge)

Supplies for the Battlefield

Safe Harbors

Friends of the Mission Nationally

How to Find Local Resources: Words of Warning about the Internet

Tactical Guide for Civilians on the Home front

The Last Resort (Heart Transplant)

The Final Word About Raising a Heart Warrior

Acknowledgments

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.