What is this hypo plastic left heart thing?

Basically, hypo plastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) is a congenital heart defect. In layman's terms, the left ventricle of the heart is characterized by it's small size and poor contractability. At least this is the case for our baby, who was diagnosed at approximately 20 weeks of gestation. This is a devastating diagnosis since there are only 3 basic options for the baby: terminate the pregnancy, go through a 3 stage pallative surgery or heart transplant or opt for compassionate care. The latter, would mean I would give birth to this beautiful little boy and then allow him to die naturally-no surgical intervention. Well, with 2 stubborn parents like us the only way we would go is to allow a skilled surgeon to perform the surgeries. This is the most difficult route but we know God is with us all. If you are wondering what causes this-no one knows for sure. Congenital heart defects are not in either side of our families. I was very sick in February, at a critical developmental time for the baby, so maybe this caused it. Regardless, we have had to take monthly visits to Albuquerque for Pediatric Cardiologist, Dr. Beth Goens, to monitor the baby's heart via echocardiogram. Although Dr. Goens predicted that the baby's left ventricle would not grow and he would have aortic stenosis we did see his left ventricle grow. Unfortunately, the contractability of the ventricle itself is not good. Therefore, he will need these surgeries to survive. This week we will see a series of specialists to make sure his condition is what everyone says it is. We then prepare for the challenging road ahead-I know we will make it through. Everything so far says this is true.....