heartbreak

I will start with good news...Rocco and Jagger had their one week post-op check up today. They are lookin' good and feelin' great! We will only have to go for follow ups every 6 months now.

As you know, Madden was not able to have his surgery because the anesthesiologist was concerned about his heart rate being too low. Boy are we glad she was! We were scheduled to see Dr. Brumund, the cardiologist, on Friday to get him checked out. Unfortunately, we didn't learn what I had hoped and prayed which was that Madden's low heart rate was normal for him and get a casual "he's fine" from the doc. Instead, we learned that Madden has a condition called complete heart block (third degree heart block.) Sound scary? Yeah, it kinda is. You can click on the link to learn more, but in layman's terms, his a-v node isn't sending the electrical signals fast enough from the upper chambers to the lower chambers....his atria is basically pumping 2 times faster than his ventricles. We learned that this condition was not congenital but most likely a viral infection caused the damage to the a-v node.

What does this mean for Madden? Well, if you asked him....he'd probably say:

"I'm fine Momma!"

Good news is his heart is structurally sound and he is not symptomatic...other than a lower than normal heart rate (70's). The natural history of this condition, however, is that it usually progresses over time which means that he may become symptomatic. Symptoms being an even lower heart rate (in 30-40's), fatigue, fainting, etc. So Madden will be monitored very closely by the docs and we also have our own built-in control group at home. By comparing him to his brothers and sisters, we should notice any changes or symptoms quickly. If he does become symptomatic, the doc will have to intervene by implanting a pacemaker in our little fella. I am told that a pacemaker will let Madden live a normal active life just like the next person (with the exception of avoiding some contact sports.) I should note that while he is not symptomatic or if he does not ever become symptomatic, he will also lead a normal active life. He is not restricted in any activities.

Friday night Madden was put on a holter monitor for 24 hours. Dr. B wanted to see exactly what his heart was doing in all situations....sleeping, eating, throwing a tantrum, etc. We received the results back yesterday and they were not anything surprising to the doc so this was good. It did confirm that he had complete heart block 100% of the time, but his heart rate did not reach any of those alarming low rates. Monitoring is paramount so he will have to wear the holter monitor for 24 hours at a time every six weeks to 3 months depending on symptoms or the lack of.

I have a feeling this thing is gonna get harder to keep on as he gets older!

While receiving this news was a blow to us, we have been through tougher. We know Who is in control and we will trust Him now like we always have. It is our prayer that Madden's heart is healed and that our God receives all the glory.

"We love you "little" bro! Hope your heart gets better real soon!
(Sloan, Rocco, Jagger)

Love,
Kami