A Matter of Heart

We found out that Judah has super ventricle tachycardia (a racing heart) caused by a short-circuit somewhere inside. Apparently he can go for over a day with it racing like that, but it probably wouldn't be good for him. His heart-rate spiked again last night, (Thursday), to about 290 when I was about to leave. It lasted for about a half hour and then came back to normal. They say that it often corrects itself, but we need to check his pulse every diaper change for the next several months. (Time to invest in a stethoscope - never thought I'd say that). He has meds that are controlling this problem, but the nurse forgot to give them to him that night. 15 minutes after administering it to him, his heart calmed down. Surprisingly, he wasn't at all agitated or bothered until they tried to stick him twice for an emergency IV line!

So - perhaps he has a heart made for racing... The cardiologist stated that many kids outgrow this condition quickly, and about 20% continue with it into adolescence and at that point they have a surgery they can perform to eradicate it then. Please keep praying that this is the first and best case scenario. He (and by that I mean 'we') don't need any more. We're getting tired, emotional, and our hope gets built up and taken down daily. But overall he looks healthy...

His heart went up again on Friday afternoon when Faith was there and the doctor has informed us that they will not release him until there is 48 hours after an episode. They are setting us up with a Pediatrician in our area, and we also have a Cardiologist now. (Now that's something you don't get to say every day). We will be prescribed a liquid medicine for Judah's heart to control it. It is only given every 12 hours but we will need to check his heart rate every time we change his diaper just to keep on top of things. I found out the best way of bringing him out of one of these episodes is to fill a bag with ice and water and put it on his face. It's a bit cruel, but I've seen it work great and it is something I can do at home.

How many mother's do you know who get to carry a stethoscope and heart medication in their diaper bag?