he needs to go home!" We spent that night at the Ronald McDonald House and headed to our home the next morning. While Andrew recovered quickly from the stroke, complications related to his pacemaker plagued him for the next 10 years and beyond with the realization in 1997 that his heart suffered from "pacemaker syndrome".
It was February 1997, my mother-in-law was dying of lung cancer, at the same time I was finishing up my final semester of nursing school. After weeks of Drs. appointments with Andrew for nausea he was experiencing I finally called the pediatric cardiology office. My mistake was calling on a Friday and not talking to a Dr. that knew us.....his primary cardiologist was away and I was told that he would call me Monday morning.
By the time the call came Monday morning Andrew could barely walk upstairs to his bedroom. His regular
cardiologist was alarmed by what I described by this time he had become quite short of breath. I was asked to bring him right in. We had noticed over the past several weeks that Andrew had begun to "gain weight", unfortunately we learned that the weight was all fluid.
Once we got to the pediatric cardiology office and they saw the distress Andrew was in, he was put in a wheelchair and taken for a chest X-ray confirming he was in full blown congestive heart failure. Andrew was immediately admitted to the PICU. Started on IV Lasix he quickly lost liters of fluid. After an echo Drs. 1st suspected either bacteria or a virus was responsible for the evident damage to his left ventricle, we were told the damage was permanent. When labs were all negative we were told of the suspected pacemaker syndrome. Drs. determined that it was time for more aggressive pacing, with new advances in pacemakers Andrew would hopefully benefit from a newer model.
Andrew at 6 weeks,looking like a perfectly healthy baby. He was 4 months old before he had his first "Tet spell" (blue Spell) short for Tetrology of Fallot.
underlying heart defect Tetrology of Fallot. He was then put on his 1st cardiac med Propranalol.
Andrew at 18 months, just 9 months after his Tet repair/ and 1st pacer implant.
underlying heart defect Tetrology of Fallot. He was then put on his 1st cardiac med Propranalol.