Walker had his 6 month check up yesterday with his pediatrician. He weighed in at a hefty 20 lbs, 11 oz and was 29 inches long. The doctor discussed solids and his weight gain (which as impressive as it may seem, is apparently a little off of what is expected considering his previous growth rate) and his overall health. He then moved on to the physical examination. The easy part, right? Not this time. While listening to Walker's heart, he detected a murmur. He said that sometimes he can hear a murmur and know that is it nothing, but this time, he said, he can't say that. He recommended we take Walker to Riley Hospital for an ultrasound of his heart. He explained that many times a murmur means nothing. It is just an extra sound your heart makes. Other times, it can be caused by a defect- most commonly, VSD or Ventricular Septal Defect. He went on to explain that VSD is a hole in the wall of the heart that separates the left and right ventricles. This causes excess blood to remain in the heart instead of getting pumped to either the body or the lungs and can cause the heart to work harder than it should. Many times the hole will heal on its own. In extreme cases, open heart surgery is required to patch the hole.
Well today my mother and I took Walker to Riley for his ultrasound and he did great. He flirted with the techs and was very patient while she looked at and photographed his beautiful little ticker with the ultrasound machine. The fact that he got to lay around in just his diaper probably contributed to his pleasant demeanor in an otherwise scary and unusual situation. The whole process took about 40 minutes and we were sent on our way, loaded down with little trinkets and toys because Walker "did so well and was so cute." We were told that our doctor would have the results that day, so I, being the impatient and controlling mother I can be, called Walker's pediatrician an hour later and left a message for him to call me with the results.
About an hour and a half later I got the call. Walker does in fact have a moderate muscular VSD. We are being referred to a pediatric cardiologist who, I am sure, will answer all the questions that are slowly filling my head. I have spend the past 2 hours doing as much research as I can on the disease and this is what I know so far:
1) It is curable and the mortality rate is basically 0% (whew)
2) Like the doctor said, many do heal on their own- especially the muscular kind, like Walker's
3) It was something he was born with (which brings up my #1 question: why are we just finding this at 6 months???)
4) It can cause cardiac distress- symptoms to watch for include sweating and tiring during feedings, decrease in appetite, rapid breathing, blue face and lips (none of which Walker has had. EVER)
5) I should have paid closer attention in Health class.
6) I believe with all of my heart and soul that God will take care of us and will only give us what He knows we can handle.
7: Below is a diagram of what a VSD looks like and how it works
Anyway, I invite everyone to join us on this new and unexpected adventure in parenthood. I hope it is short and boring. I hope my next post is the last on the subject and we can move on, put health scares behind us and continue to enjoy every second of our wonderful son.
