The Progeny
Still Cold
Even the poor barns next door look cold.
"Brrrrrr."
But tonight should be the last one in the negatives, possibly for this winter :-)
A little light snow moving through tomorrow and then some warm-up. Maybe into the 30's.
Things could...well....melt !
______________
The Derek report: yesterday's late afternoon apointments ended up not including the usual EKGs, Echos and whatnot.
First we waited.
Then we were taken to the examining room where we waited some more.
Then we heard our doc talking outside the door.
For a long time.
Then the good Dr. H. came in and talked with us a bit, followed by another tallish doctorly looking person entering the room, which was....
...Equally good Dr. L., the head of pediatric electrophysiology at Iowa Children's Hospital, a part of University of Iowa Hospitals. They had been reading and talking through the charts outside the door, with Dr. H. bringing Dr. L. up to speed on Derek and Carolyn, but particularly Derek.
SO, sometime in the next month or so, Derek will be admitted to Iowa Children's hospital where they have a pediatric cardiac floor. There he will be administered Sotalol, in the hopes that it will provide some therapeutic relief for the continuing A-fib. Atrial fibrillation tends to be self-perpetuating. If the Sotalol and attending hospital care bring him back to sinus rhythm, it is hoped he can be kept there, with the sinus rhythm being self-perpetuating.
Derek has apparently been "in it" for much of the time since Christmas. At times it is quite noticeable for even a novice such as myself to hear with a stethoscope. This is usually also a time when Derek can definitely tell, describing it as a "sick" heartbeat.
But since his sinus node is sluggish, Derek is in A-fib with no increased heart-rate, usually around the low 70's, and thus is not always aware that he is in atrial fibrillation.
ANY-way, Dr. H., has been in close consultation with Dr. L. concerning the Sotalol therapy. Dr. L, in turn has been in close consultation with another doc out of state, who is a geneticist.
Basically, everyone wants some of our blood.
No wait. Not mine, which is happily normal. But they will start with Loren, and move on from there, testing for a genetic heart arrhythmia that manifests with atrial fibrillation.
Of course I'd always hoped for an interesting family life...
________________
The FAFSA Report: Kendra has just completed her first, and now sports a grand smile across her countenance. Such an ordeal! I thought administrations of cool cloths across the head might be necessary. Luckily, Loren does all the taxes so there is little I can offer other than supplying such important facts as my birth date and "Here, this chocolate will make everything better."
*sound of foil unwrapping*
Tweet
"Brrrrrr."But tonight should be the last one in the negatives, possibly for this winter :-)
A little light snow moving through tomorrow and then some warm-up. Maybe into the 30's.
Things could...well....melt !
______________
The Derek report: yesterday's late afternoon apointments ended up not including the usual EKGs, Echos and whatnot.
First we waited.
Then we were taken to the examining room where we waited some more.
Then we heard our doc talking outside the door.
For a long time.
Then the good Dr. H. came in and talked with us a bit, followed by another tallish doctorly looking person entering the room, which was....
...Equally good Dr. L., the head of pediatric electrophysiology at Iowa Children's Hospital, a part of University of Iowa Hospitals. They had been reading and talking through the charts outside the door, with Dr. H. bringing Dr. L. up to speed on Derek and Carolyn, but particularly Derek.
SO, sometime in the next month or so, Derek will be admitted to Iowa Children's hospital where they have a pediatric cardiac floor. There he will be administered Sotalol, in the hopes that it will provide some therapeutic relief for the continuing A-fib. Atrial fibrillation tends to be self-perpetuating. If the Sotalol and attending hospital care bring him back to sinus rhythm, it is hoped he can be kept there, with the sinus rhythm being self-perpetuating.
Derek has apparently been "in it" for much of the time since Christmas. At times it is quite noticeable for even a novice such as myself to hear with a stethoscope. This is usually also a time when Derek can definitely tell, describing it as a "sick" heartbeat.
But since his sinus node is sluggish, Derek is in A-fib with no increased heart-rate, usually around the low 70's, and thus is not always aware that he is in atrial fibrillation.
ANY-way, Dr. H., has been in close consultation with Dr. L. concerning the Sotalol therapy. Dr. L, in turn has been in close consultation with another doc out of state, who is a geneticist.
Basically, everyone wants some of our blood.
No wait. Not mine, which is happily normal. But they will start with Loren, and move on from there, testing for a genetic heart arrhythmia that manifests with atrial fibrillation.
Of course I'd always hoped for an interesting family life...
________________
The FAFSA Report: Kendra has just completed her first, and now sports a grand smile across her countenance. Such an ordeal! I thought administrations of cool cloths across the head might be necessary. Luckily, Loren does all the taxes so there is little I can offer other than supplying such important facts as my birth date and "Here, this chocolate will make everything better."
*sound of foil unwrapping*
Tweet
posted by Ma Hoyt | 8:10 PM
6 Comments:
Obviously, it is the people who devise forms to fill out that have jobs which will last forever.
Hope it goes well, Rhonda :-)
I have to get more blood drawn?
Oh well, all in a good cause, I suppose.
Quite possibly, though I think they are most interested in family members (close and extended) who display definite signs of heart weirdness.
Oh yes...the genetic testing is free :-D
Sounds like Derek's in good hands. That's nice of them to do the testing for free. Is this for ARVD?
ARVD is a pretty broad term. And there have only been a couple genes nailed down, of the 18 or so genes supposedly identified with ARVD.
The specific thing they are testing for does not fall into that category, if I understand correctly.
Dr. H. has always felt that Daddy did not present with the typical symptoms associated with ARVD. They were somewhat shocked when the pathology report from Mayo came back with that diagnosis.
Post a Comment
<< Home