David's Big Heart

After David's heart failure incident last May....we have had many people ask about him. I mean....a 27 year-old doesn't typically have issues like that, right? I realize that I have never really explained much about David's heart...but I think I should.

Bear with me....because a lot of concepts might be a little tricky to understand if the anatomy of the heart is unfamiliar to you.

David's heart is a miracle. 

When David's mom was pregnant, they had no idea anything would be wrong. He was born blue....meaning his blood wasn't oxygenating. He was immediately taken away and soon transported to a different hospital. Shortly after.....they found what the problem was...

David was born with a Transposition of the Great Vessels and Pulmonary Stenosis. In simpler terms...what this meant at birth was that his oxygenated blood and un-oxygenated weren't mixing at all. His vessels were in the wrong place...and his pulmonary vessel was very narrow..meaning blood couldn't flow through it very easily. In the 80's...this was a pretty serious condition. They went in through a catheter his first day of life to create a hole between his two atria (the two top chambers of your heart) to allow some oxygenated blood to mix with the rest of his blood. 

He went in for his first open heart surgery when he was two months old. Since then....David has had over 17 heart surgeries. For his first 15 years....he would average about one surgery per year. His heart has been "re-routed" from the way a typical heart works. Normally, blood goes through the right atria, right ventricle, out to the pulmonary circuit.....back to the left atria, left ventricle...and out to the body. 

David's heart goes right atria, left atria, left ventricle....pulmonary circuit...right ventricle....and out to the rest of his body. 

When David was 4 years old....he developed rhythm problems. Meaning his heart wasn't beating properly. During open heart surgery....one of the risks is that the SA node....the aspect of your heart that causes your heart to beat....can become damaged. David's became damaged....and so he had his first pacemaker placed when he was 4 to take place of his damaged SA node. 

 He has had surgeries to build a conduit in his pulmonary artery to allow blood to flow easier to his lungs. He has had surgeries to correct structural problems that arise from his heart functioning a different way. He has had various leads placed for his different pacemakers. He has had battery changes for his pacers. 

Right now, David has a defibrillator instead of a pacemaker. It still performs the same functions....as it keeps the rhythm of his heart steady...but it also can shock his heart if his heart stops. I'm sure at some point you've seen in the movies where they put paddles on peoples chest to shock them back into life....well...essentially David's defibrillator can do the same thing. 

His heart stays at a constant 80 beats per minute. For a normal, healthy heart....your heart rate will go up or down depending on the activity you are doing. David's doesn't change much. In fact....if David's heart starts racing for a long period of time....it is typically a sign that something is wrong...often atrial or ventricular fibrillation. 

Yikes. Are you still reading? So many terms. Let me explain fibrillation. 

If a person is in atrial fibrillation....it means the top two chambers of their heart aren't beating. They are just...quivering....like..twitching almost. It isn't moving blood the right way. No blood moving...is not a good thing. What is worse is ventricular fibrillation. Meaning the bottom two chambers of your heart are just quivering. Not actually beating. Not moving blood out to the rest of your body. This is where David's defibrillator comes in. If his heart has atrial fibrillation....which is a pretty common thing for him....His defibrillator says..."Hey...something isn't right here." And it goes through pacing stages to get him out of it. Essentially....it causes his heart to beat faster to stop the "quivering" and get his heart to beat normally. If his defibrillator cannot get his heart to beat normally...it will deliver an electrical shock. Luckily....this rarely happens. It is just for worst case situations. 

The thing is....David's life has been spared numerous times. Surgeries that shouldn't have worked...have worked. Other surgeries that have gone wrong.....ended up saving his life. Many people ask why they can't just "fix" it and be done. Well. That would be awesome. Unfortunately... that isn't how it always works. David has been so blessed throughout his life that technology has been one step ahead of him. Children born with David's same condition 5 years before him....wouldn't have survived childhood. 

The reason David went into heart failure last May...well...they just can't always predict what David's heart will do. His valves in his heart...and his heart itself functions completely different than the way your heart and my heart do. Because of this....his heart reacts to stress differently....his valves...the pressures in his heart...all play a different role. 

Complicated. I know. 

We know David will have heart surgeries in the future to fix various things. We know that his right ventricle has to work extra hard to pump blood to his entire body. (Typically it is the left ventricle that supplies the blood to the body...because it is stronger). We know even at some point....hopefully more than 20 years down the line.....that he will likely need a heart transplant. 

Yes. It scares me. It scares me in every possible way.... Especially after loosing Adalyn. I don't even know where to begin to convey my fears. When I think about it....I can't breathe. David is my anchor. My comfort. My strength.

So I can't let myself go there. (Which is definitely sometimes easier said than done). I have to focus on the here and now. And right now? David's heart is doing great. He can do everything that he wants to do. He is active and healthy. He is witty...and attempts at cracking jokes. He is smart...and graduated with is degree in Physical Therapy.

Most of all....he is the kindest and most compassionate person I have ever met. 

He was....and is....the best dad for Adalyn. Watching him with her will forever be held as my favorite moments. 

The thing is.....life is fragile my friends....but it is also a gift. The moments we are given is how we us that gift.