Friday, February 22, 2013

A Little Update on Bridger's heart


Bored at the Cardiologists yesterday...
1. Bridger: "Mom seriously why are you taking a picture?!" 2. My cute boy putting up with his silly Mom:)
3. He doesn't care anymore  4. Still waiting...

I had to to do something to keep from crying after the EKG and sonogram we had just finished with...I had such a lump in my throat:(

It was not good news, but probably a blessing in disguise.
 I had actually been looking forward to this check up.   I thought it was when they Dr would confirm my feeling that he was doing great and we would start weening him off the strong heart medication that he is currently taking every 8 hours around the clock. The nurse at school had accidentally been giving him his middle of the day dosage from an expired bottle of medicine.  So he had not been getting full strength from one of the dosages.  We had just realized this, and had mistakenly believed that it was a good sign that his heart was better;.
  I thought he was doing great on less--but I was wrong!!

Instead, when the technician hooked him up to the EKG machine instead of doing her usual quick test she let the machine run for what seemed like forever...that was my first red flag.  She was as sweet and playful with him as always, but so many pages of his heart beat were piling up, far more than usual!  Of course I knew she can't say anything to me, but I did wonder what was going on?

Then when we went into another room for the echo cardiogram.  We were laughing and chatting with that technician too--all these people just love Bridger and are so cute with him, which I am so thankful for.  Anyway, we were only into the ultrasound for a few minutes when she stopped and said, I am sorry but I have to go get the Doctor to see this.  My heart sunk...
It turns out his little heart was having problems again.  Lying down he was going up to 169 beats in waves.  I felt like I had been sucker punched!  Once again the cardiologists asked him if his heart felt funny--and he said no.  It was working so hard and HE CAN NOT FEEL IT!  Isn't that crazy?
I wish he could so he could let me know when things weren't right.

In the end she explained to me that he will need to have the surgery again at Vanderbilt.
In the mean time we will have to come back on Monday to be fitted for a a halter for 24 hour monitoring of his heart.  They need to know if the medicine is working right once it is back to full strength in his system or if they need to make changes.   

You know how the Doctors at Vanderbilt were not able to fix his heart last November--they just couldn't get 
his heart to go back into the SVT (crazy fast heart beat) even after all the medicine was out of his system.  Well, I was thinking... this is obviously a very elusive problem--hard to catch.
So even though it is such disappointing news, at least we were able to catch it--right there on record.  Our cardiologists here is forwarding all the test results and data we now have up to the specialist at Vanderbilt so he can study it and try to figure out how to fix his little heart.  The more I thought about it the more I am filled with gratitude that it happened in the office.   I know that was a blessing!
Who knows how long that could have been happening and would have gone on after.  There is the possibility that we would have never known until it was too late to reverse the damage or ended up in the hospital again.
Now at least we can take the next steps to fix the problem, hopefully once and for all.
So in the end, I can see that once again we were blessed.
I know that all the prayers on his behalf are being heard and he is being watched over.
Even though the news was sad, my heart is full.

Thank you again for all your sweet concern and prayers for my boy!


10 comments:

Mel said...

Oh, Melanie - I teared up reading your post. There cute little Bridger is in his adorable BYU jersey and you are feeling all the heartache of a mom who can't do anything to fix the issue. I'm glad they were able to see the issue but sad that it wasn't getting better like you thought. We are still praying for the brave, little guy!

Melanie Anne said...

Melanie,
Thank you for your sweet words and your prayers! It is so cute that you noticed his BYU jersey--you are a true blue boys MOm too:) Love you gilr!!

FALLON said...

I'm so sorry that the news wasn't what we were all hoping for : (. I'm amazed at your ability to see the positives in this situation. Thankfully, Bridger will once again be in great hands at Vandy. I'll be praying that they can fix everything this time. We love you guys!

Melanie Anne said...

Thank You Steph! we love you guys too! xo

Susan said...

Melanie - It IS a blessing - and truly a miracle that they now have that episode on tape. That will help the Doctors to pinpoint the problem. You are in my prayers through all of this - Susan

Rachel Holloway said...

I am so sorry to hear there wasn't better news! I am sure this is heartbreaking as a mom--and I sincerely hope and pray they are able to fix things this next time!

Melanie Anne said...

Susan and Rachel--Thank you so much! xoxo

lori said...

bless his handsome heart! Literally! I didn't realize you were shouldering this difficult trial, my far-away friend!! Many prayers to you both! I had such fun looking over this month's worth of your posts! What a good mother you are! A great example of what I want to be as my children grow up!! Love you!!!

Brittany said...

Hi Sis. I just reread this and even though we talk on the phone, wanted to leave a little message anyway. Thank you for keeping us all updated on Bridge - he is in our prayers every day. You are such a strong person, Mel. I'm amazed and humbled by your faith and positive attitude. You're truly such a wonderful mom - just perfect for Bridger during this time. I know the Dr's will figure it out and fix it eventually but during this hard time of waiting, know that you are all loved! Your family is precious to a lot of people sis. Give Bridge a big hug from me! xoxox

Anonymous said...

Prayers to your family!!!

 
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