SVT

Three little letters have caused us much anxiety the past week.  Aidan has been complaining of heartburn the past few weeks on and off.  Honestly we didn't think much of it as he has mentioned it occasionally in the past.  After his most recent complaint, he mentioned that his heart hurts and beats out of his chest during his "heartburn".  We immediately perked up when we heard this and let him know this wasn't normal.  We planned to bring it up to his pediatrician on his next appointment.  Then last Thursday Aidan came home from football practice and said he was having heartburn, but his heart was really hurting.  I felt his chest and his heart was beating VERY fast.  As soon as we got home I got out our stethoscope and counted his heart rate at 220 beats per minute.  I checked it a few times before I believed I was hearing it correctly.

I called up to the ER and spoke with one of the attending physicians.  They told me to come in immediately and Aidan and I were out the door.  Once we got to the ER, we went straight back to a room where staff were on hand waiting for us.  They hooked Aidan up to the monitors and his heart rate was about 230 bpm.  He was in supraventricular tachycardia (SVT).  Thankfully he was doing fine, but I knew what was in store for him.  They tried a few natural ways to convert him out of without success.  They then used a medication called Adenosine which removes all the electrical activity of the heart, causing it to briefly stop and then restart again.  It was terrifying for Aidan!  I was mess watching it all happen, but thankfully the medication worked and converted him back to a normal rhythm.

We spent a few more hours in the ED and then went home to follow up first thing in the morning with cardiology.  The next morning he had an echocardiogram and another EKG completed.  All were normal (thank you God!).  Based on his history, we think he has been going in and out of SVT for the past 12-18 months.  With that information on hand, they are recommending Aidan have a cardiac ablation done soon to "zap" the cells in his heart that are causing the SVT to start.  They started him on beta blockers to help prevent it and keep his heart at a lower rate.  He has gone into SVT one time since  last Thursday and he was able to convert himself out of it using the tricks he learned in cardiology.

This has been a very nerve-wracking experience and one I would like to not have.  We return to cardiology next week to meet with the electro-physiologist to discuss the ablation in more detail.  Hopefully we can schedule it soon, but at the same time we are worried sick about doing it!  Please keep Aidan in your prayers and ask for a quick recovery from this!

Fall Wrap Up

I am going to try to do a better job of keeping up this blog!  Life seems to always get in the way, but I will give it a better try.

Since school started back up it seems we have never stopped running.  Aidan is playing football with 3 day/week practices and games on the weekends.  He took to it slowly, but after the first few weeks, he is really enjoying it.

Cian is playing soccer this year after a 3 year (?) break.  It has been fun to watch as Aidan never played soccer past 1st grade.  The 3rd graders are really quite good and actually have to follow rules of the game.  His team is doing okay in their league, so it is fun to watch them win some and lose some!

Fintan is also playing soccer and having a good time.  He is on a mixed team of some of his classmates and some other random kids thrown in there.  It has turned out to be a pretty good experience, so we are happy for that!

Maeve has just been along for the ride!  We thought about (for maybe 10 seconds) of putting her in soccer this fall, but quickly regained our senses and decided against it.  It would have been way to much for what she would have gotten out of it.  Maybe next year?/

Fintan and Maeve both recently celebrated birthdays!  Fintan turned 7 and Maeve turned 5.  Fintan had a rock-n-bowl party.  It was fun and the kids seemed to enjoy it.  Maeve had a family party and will graduate to a friend party next year!  I think she had more fun with her cousins anyway!  It was a nice night!

We are settling into our new home.  Slowly each room is coming together.  I recently finished painting our living room.  We got some new formal furniture from Susie's parents (their old furniture not needed/wanted in their new home), so it looks nice in our living room.  We are thinking about recovering it, but that will come another day.

Well that is it for now...