We went over to our neighbor's house today to play a little. They have a little girl named Eden, who's a few months younger, and Sam loves being with her. This is his very first pumpkin to touch.
This one looks like a wedding photo, in my opinion.
Lots of folks have been asking for a more succinct version of what happened with Sam over the last few weeks. Most of you got the daily blog update and a few newsletters, but I wanted to kind of put everything into perspective with this blog.
We'll start at the beginning:
October 2, 2006 - Sam is born and is extremely healthy. He has no health problems and is only on antibiotics once during the next 11 months.
Fast forward to:
August 23, 2007 - Sam wakes up with a fever. I gave him Tylenol, but it wasn't enough to cut the fever. It spiked around 11:30 in the morning to over 102 degrees and as a result he had a febrile seizure. We called an ambulance, they took us to Rex Emergency Room. Sam appeared to be recovering fine, so they sent us home and told us to give him Tylenol and Ibuprofen alternately for the fever. They think he has a summer virus because of a rash that appeared on his trunk at the hospital.
August 23, 2007 - At 8:30pm his fever spiked again to over 102 degrees and he had another seizure. We called 911, again, and this time the (very smart) EMT took an ECG of Sam on the way to Rex. Sam's heart rate was beating very very fast - they call it ventricular tachycardia, which prevents the blood from circulating properly in his body. The sirens come on and we jetted even faster to Rex. While at the Rex ER, Sam had several more abnormal ECGs. He was transferred to UNC Hospital for observation. He was given more medicine to keep his fever down, which stayed above 101 for the next two days, despite the meds.
August 25, 2007 - A cardiologist (we were in the pediatric cardiology ward) says they have contacted Dr. Buck, a specialist in rhythm. He has asked them to perform several tests to see if Sam has certain heart disorders. Brugada was one of the ones they checked on. Sam was discharged this day.
August 30, 2007 - I have a terrible headache and stiff neck. It was so bad I made Bill take me to the ER. I had a spinal tap and they determined I had viral meningitis. I was admitted to the hospital.
August 31, 2007 - Bill took Sam to see Dr. Buck regarding Sam's tests done at UNC. Dr. Buck says that Sam has something called Brugada Syndrome.
What is Brugada? "This is an inherited arrhythmia that causes the bottom chambers of the heart (the ventricles) to beat so fast that they can prevent the blood from circulating efficiently in the body. When this situation occurs (called ventricular fibrillation), the individual will faint and may die in a few minutes if the heart is not reset." (check http://www.brugada.org/ for more information)
The defibrillator will help reset his heart - it is a "safety net" for him.
Same day - Sam is put on a heart monitor during nap times and evening sleep to check if his heart is in danger. Bill's mother came up from SC to help. I am still in the hospital. We are told we qualify for a research study and Sam will have his blood checked for genetic markers of the disease. If he has them, we will be checked as well.
September 1, 2007 - I am released from the hospital, no longer contagious, with at least a month of recovery ahead of me.
September 5, 2007 - Sam has surgery to implant a defibrillator. It actually has to go into his belly because he is so little there is no other space for it. The leads are attached to his pericardial sac. They went in through his chest - a small part of his sternum was cut. While he was being transferred to his hospital bed, the device malfunctioned and shocked him 20 times in 24 minutes (with us watching). Poor little guy. The therapy portion of the device was shut off for the next few days to monitor him and figure out what went wrong.
September 9, 2007 - We all determined it would be okay to turn the device back on. There were no misfires and Sam was released on September 11, 2007.
September 14, 2007 - Bill and I have ECGs to see if we are in the clear. Bill's has a slight abnormality, but nothing has been determined. Mine was fine. Sam was also checked out this day and is doing well.
To this day there have been no misfires of the defibrillator. We count it a blessing to have Dr. Buck as our cardiologist. He has treated Sam so well and has been meticulously scrutinizing the device and Sam. Sam has a few problems with his bowels now, because the device (adult-size device, by the way) is so large and is pushing on his tummy.
September 24, 2007 - 10:10am Sam has an appointment with his pediatrician
September 28, 2007 - 8:00am Sam has an appointment with Dr. Buck, cardiologist
We are so grateful for everyone's help during this time. As you can see, it happened in only a matter of weeks. It has been life-changing, but we know God is in control.
We'll start at the beginning:
October 2, 2006 - Sam is born and is extremely healthy. He has no health problems and is only on antibiotics once during the next 11 months.
Fast forward to:
August 23, 2007 - Sam wakes up with a fever. I gave him Tylenol, but it wasn't enough to cut the fever. It spiked around 11:30 in the morning to over 102 degrees and as a result he had a febrile seizure. We called an ambulance, they took us to Rex Emergency Room. Sam appeared to be recovering fine, so they sent us home and told us to give him Tylenol and Ibuprofen alternately for the fever. They think he has a summer virus because of a rash that appeared on his trunk at the hospital.
August 23, 2007 - At 8:30pm his fever spiked again to over 102 degrees and he had another seizure. We called 911, again, and this time the (very smart) EMT took an ECG of Sam on the way to Rex. Sam's heart rate was beating very very fast - they call it ventricular tachycardia, which prevents the blood from circulating properly in his body. The sirens come on and we jetted even faster to Rex. While at the Rex ER, Sam had several more abnormal ECGs. He was transferred to UNC Hospital for observation. He was given more medicine to keep his fever down, which stayed above 101 for the next two days, despite the meds.
August 25, 2007 - A cardiologist (we were in the pediatric cardiology ward) says they have contacted Dr. Buck, a specialist in rhythm. He has asked them to perform several tests to see if Sam has certain heart disorders. Brugada was one of the ones they checked on. Sam was discharged this day.
August 30, 2007 - I have a terrible headache and stiff neck. It was so bad I made Bill take me to the ER. I had a spinal tap and they determined I had viral meningitis. I was admitted to the hospital.
August 31, 2007 - Bill took Sam to see Dr. Buck regarding Sam's tests done at UNC. Dr. Buck says that Sam has something called Brugada Syndrome.
What is Brugada? "This is an inherited arrhythmia that causes the bottom chambers of the heart (the ventricles) to beat so fast that they can prevent the blood from circulating efficiently in the body. When this situation occurs (called ventricular fibrillation), the individual will faint and may die in a few minutes if the heart is not reset." (check http://www.brugada.org/ for more information)
The defibrillator will help reset his heart - it is a "safety net" for him.
Same day - Sam is put on a heart monitor during nap times and evening sleep to check if his heart is in danger. Bill's mother came up from SC to help. I am still in the hospital. We are told we qualify for a research study and Sam will have his blood checked for genetic markers of the disease. If he has them, we will be checked as well.
September 1, 2007 - I am released from the hospital, no longer contagious, with at least a month of recovery ahead of me.
September 5, 2007 - Sam has surgery to implant a defibrillator. It actually has to go into his belly because he is so little there is no other space for it. The leads are attached to his pericardial sac. They went in through his chest - a small part of his sternum was cut. While he was being transferred to his hospital bed, the device malfunctioned and shocked him 20 times in 24 minutes (with us watching). Poor little guy. The therapy portion of the device was shut off for the next few days to monitor him and figure out what went wrong.
September 9, 2007 - We all determined it would be okay to turn the device back on. There were no misfires and Sam was released on September 11, 2007.
September 14, 2007 - Bill and I have ECGs to see if we are in the clear. Bill's has a slight abnormality, but nothing has been determined. Mine was fine. Sam was also checked out this day and is doing well.
To this day there have been no misfires of the defibrillator. We count it a blessing to have Dr. Buck as our cardiologist. He has treated Sam so well and has been meticulously scrutinizing the device and Sam. Sam has a few problems with his bowels now, because the device (adult-size device, by the way) is so large and is pushing on his tummy.
September 24, 2007 - 10:10am Sam has an appointment with his pediatrician
September 28, 2007 - 8:00am Sam has an appointment with Dr. Buck, cardiologist
We are so grateful for everyone's help during this time. As you can see, it happened in only a matter of weeks. It has been life-changing, but we know God is in control.
4 comments:
wow. That is so much to take in in such a short amount of time! Thanks for posting the events!
We're still praying for you guys. Keep us posted!
Dear Teesa & Bill,
I just read your most recent prayer update which led me to this blog. Please know that we are praying for y'all. You are precious parents with a dear treasure of a boy in your life. Wish I could hold Sam, but it looks like he's gotten pretty busy. Hope all of your health continues to be strong and we praise and thank Father for the ways He's at work in your lives. Thinking of you. With Caring. Stepheny
Hey Bill and Teesa. I've been checking your blog every day and have been praying for all of you guys. Thanks for the condensed version too...I think it helps me to pray even better! It's amazing what medicine can do isn't it? I'll keep praying and you keep posting!
I'm sorry I didn't keep in touch with y'all better. Anyway, a lot of people were praying for you, because y'all were mentioned as a prayer request at my brother's church.
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