We checked in at 6 am and we were shown to a private room to wait. Kellen was surprisingly alert and cheerful, playing and giggling despite being tired and hungry. Dr. Anderson came in for a quick talk and gave me a chance to ask some more questions.Then came the worst part of the whole ordeal: the IV. He is stronger than his size suggests or than the nurses expected, so I had to lay across his body with mine, while two nurses held his arm still and attempted the IV in his fist and then his forearm. Both failed. Of course, he was screaming the entire time and actually reminded me of when he was a newborn with his red, scrunched up face. After approval from Dr. Anderson, they decided to go for the pulsing vein in his head, even more prominent from the bout of crying. I held my position, while one of the nurses gripped his head, forcing it to the side to expose the vein. I had to stare at my poor baby's face, shoved halfway into the blankets, his lips turning purple from screaming so hard while avoiding looking at the needle going in his head. When it was finally in, they covered it with gobs of tape so that it practically looked like a white bow on the side of his face. In fact, a nurse who checked in, called him a "she"!! I was able to cuddle him for a bit after the trauma before a couple more nurses came by and wheeled him away. That was a hard moment for sure.
After only 40 minutes and a hospital cafeteria breakfast, Dr. Anderson showed up in the waiting room with a smile and the phrase you pray to hear, "He did great." Then he explained that during the study, Kellen did go into SVT. First, they tried to stop it by putting ice on his face and body, which didn't work and also made Kellen really angry. Dr. Anderson laughed as he said, "He's not very happy with me for that." When it didn't work, he used the electrical equipment to pace his heart back into a normal rhythm. Because of this, it was determined that his WPW is not one of the dangerous types that conducts like "greased lightning," but it's also not a light one that will fizzle out on its own. For now, this means we will go back to his medicine three times a day to control the possible SVT and meet again in two months to discuss what's next. Basically, the procedure just confirmed his diagnosis and his need for medication. Now we know he'll eventually need an ablation because it's not going to resolve on its own, but we also know that he's not prone to a life threatening arrhythmia.
Dr. Anderson led us immediately to the procedure room to see him and he was awake but angry and hazy. He couldn't hold his own head up very well and he kept refusing the pacifier. The nurse handed him to me and I laughed out loud when he immediately turned his head to look back at her and pointed an accusing finger right in her face! She exclaimed, "Hey, it wasn't me, it was her," pointing at the other nurse in the room. I thought he would calm down once I held him, but he continued to cry, arching his back and pushing away from me. I was able to carry him to recovery, where they checked his vitals and finally agreed to give him a few ounces of apple juice. They said milk would be too harsh on his stomach after the sedation. He grabbed the bottle as soon as it was in his sight and guzzled. After a couple minutes, it was gone, but he would not let go and kept sucking on the empty bottle. I tried replacing it with his pacifier, which he proceeded to grab out of his mouth and chuck to the floor! Seeing how hungry he was and how well he handled the apple juice, the nurse in recovery finally agreed to let him have some milk. After that, he was finally able to fall asleep in Mimi's arms in the rocking chair. He kept everything down and recovered so quickly that we were released in record time and home by 11.
Here's just a couple cell phone pictures we took before the procedure:
Kellen was such a trooper and once again we are so grateful for his Doctor and for his amazing care. God has really blessed our family.
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