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Our Heartkids
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Alec
Fallots
Tetralogy, Pulmonary Artesia,
Multiple
Aortopulmonary Collaterals
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When Alec was born he looked like a normal,
healthy little boy. After we had our cuddles
the nurse picked up that Alec had a bluish
tinge and he was taken into the nursery
to be warmed up and checked. It was discovered
that Alec was having heart arrhythmia's
and was admitted to special care nursery
and put on monitoring. I was unable to see
him until the next morning before he was
sent off for a heart echo where his heart
problems were detected.
From that time on it has been a roller coaster
ride of checkups, heart catheters & surgery.
Alec had his first heart catheter at 4 weeks
old. He then had continual "blue episodes"
which progressively got worse until one
day (at 12 weeks old), he stopped breathing
and had to retrieved to Prince Charles Hospital
where he underwent his first open heart
surgery.
At this point we were told that Alec's lung
arteries had not grown and they were unsure
if "he could be fixed". Alec had two more
heart catheters before they attempted to
repair his heart in December 2004.
This was an 8 hour difficult operation.
Alec had a huge bleed during the op and
took two hours to stabilize. The good news
was that Alec's lung arteries had grown
enough to repair his heart, but as a complication
of surgery Alec's heart was beating too
slow and he required a temporary pacemaker.
On day two Alec's own heart beat was gone
and 7 days later he had another op to insert
a permanent pacemaker.
After
4 days, this pacemaker failed and Alec had
to have his second pacemaker. As Alec's
heart was so scarred it was difficult to
get a pacemaker to work and his chest had
to be reopened to attach the pacing leads
properly. After 4 weeks (on Christmas Eve)
he was finally discharged from hospital.
It was the best x’mas ever.
Three months later (one day before his pacemaker
check) Alec's pacemaker failed and again
we were off to Prince Charles Hospital.
This op went well but again after 4 days
this pacemaker was starting to fail.
The next 6 months was a very nerve racking
time, continually checking him and waiting
for it to fail. In October 2005 the inevitable
happened and he went in for his 4th pacemaker.
I am pleased to say that this pacemaker
is working well and finally he is able to
enjoy being a normal little boy. He has
started at Kindy and loves spending time
with the other kids.
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