Howdy gals and fellas, a few vibes and thoughts here please...
My daughter had heart surgery in January of this year to plug a hole which was found last October. Long story short, for 8 yrs, her heart was working "too hard". Her heart muscle has toughened (like what happens in seniors), and her left ventricles are enlarged.
The worst thing though is her blood pressure INSIDE her heart; it is 5 times higher than that of a normal 8 yr old girl.
She was put under and catheterized (ran the plug up through her femoral artery). It was very rough for the family but we made it through the worst, and Emmy did just wonderfully. Great hospital. However the bad news afterwards has left us all feeling sad, because my daughter has to have Echocardiograms (ultrasound of her heart) every 6 months "forever", and she will have to be re-catheterized through her leg - up to her heart - to measure her BP. She goes in this Thursday for her 6-month Echo; and before December, to check the pressure in her heart.
If this problem would not have been found --- she would have died from congestive heart failure. This problem is typically found and taken care of in the first few WEEKS of life. Cincinnati Children's Hospital said she was the oldest patient they'd had in years for this problem.
Em's been fine, except for weight gain. No more profuse sweating, redness in her face and all that horrible coughing -- which was due to the hole in her heart causing blood to go into her lungs!!!
She now has a Titanium plug IN her heart --- which is hopefully going to balance things out... worst case she will need to be put on BP meds which will wear her out, and the 'even worst case' is a transplant later in life.
So I'm starting to have the nightmares all over again. I know Thursday is just a test, only a test... but the doc said that it's been 6 months and this test Thursday, to see a picture of Emmy's heart... will see if the heart muscle has returned to normal size. And then the cath later this year where they knock her out and check the pressure inside of her heart.
Can you guys help to quell my fears? Support from this board is just wonderful... I could use some good thoughts for my daughter. Only child, means the world to me.
Thanks y'all
My daughter had heart surgery in January of this year to plug a hole which was found last October. Long story short, for 8 yrs, her heart was working "too hard". Her heart muscle has toughened (like what happens in seniors), and her left ventricles are enlarged.
The worst thing though is her blood pressure INSIDE her heart; it is 5 times higher than that of a normal 8 yr old girl.
She was put under and catheterized (ran the plug up through her femoral artery). It was very rough for the family but we made it through the worst, and Emmy did just wonderfully. Great hospital. However the bad news afterwards has left us all feeling sad, because my daughter has to have Echocardiograms (ultrasound of her heart) every 6 months "forever", and she will have to be re-catheterized through her leg - up to her heart - to measure her BP. She goes in this Thursday for her 6-month Echo; and before December, to check the pressure in her heart.
If this problem would not have been found --- she would have died from congestive heart failure. This problem is typically found and taken care of in the first few WEEKS of life. Cincinnati Children's Hospital said she was the oldest patient they'd had in years for this problem.
Em's been fine, except for weight gain. No more profuse sweating, redness in her face and all that horrible coughing -- which was due to the hole in her heart causing blood to go into her lungs!!!
So I'm starting to have the nightmares all over again. I know Thursday is just a test, only a test... but the doc said that it's been 6 months and this test Thursday, to see a picture of Emmy's heart... will see if the heart muscle has returned to normal size. And then the cath later this year where they knock her out and check the pressure inside of her heart.
Can you guys help to quell my fears? Support from this board is just wonderful... I could use some good thoughts for my daughter. Only child, means the world to me.
Thanks y'all