Tuesday, February 02, 2010

The Heart House

Penny had her last cardiology appointment for hopefully a long, long time if ever. She had her last echocardiogram and passed with flying colors. We are now able to close the door on this issue.

To back track, Penny's dad was born with a very serious heart condition called transposition of the great vessels. Basically, the main arteries leading out of the heart are leading in total FUBAR directions and without surgery most babies would die within a few months if not a few hours. However, by the grace of medical technology, Rob was able to make it through 37 years of life. These days, I believe that kids with TGV will make it longer because the surgeries have been refined. Rob was one of the first to have certain surgeries to treat TGV and his life undoubtedly contributed to medical advancement.

There is no question.

Given his history, the only thing to do was to undergo certain tests during my pregnancy to ensure that I was carrying a relatively healthy baby with 4 distinct and functioning heart chambers with 4 relatively healthy valves with 2 main arteries leading in the right direction. Penny was able to have most of those things but she did have a mitral valve that didn't close quite perfectly after each contraction of her heart. Not a gigantic deal and it may not have ever been picked up if they weren't actively looking for something.

However, after she was born, another small issue was picked up. Penny had somewhat of a patent foramen ovale, a small opening between the right and left ventricles that is totally normal for fetal circulation but which typically closes during the first day or two of life. Usually it closes spontaneously upon the first inhalation of air after birth. It's like a magic switch in your heart that says "now I am a fetus" and "now I am an independently breathing organism."

So hers didn't close for a while. Some people's never closes. Most do.

Her did.

And her mitral valve has become strong enough to shut tightly closed after each beat of her heart, preventing any back flow of blood into her system.

*****

I'll drop the technical jargon for the more human side of all of this.

Rob would've been thrilled to know that he could make a baby with a perfect heart. That would have been the cherry on the whipped cream of the delightful morsel of life that Penny was to him. She was, and will always be, the greatest contribution he ever made to life.

The people at the cardiology center were very kind. The doctor was beyond sad to hear about Rob's passing. He really took it to heart, saying that for them it felt like a tremendous loss. He studied at NYU were Rob had all of his surgeries, studied under the doctors who cared for Rob over the years. He was obviously and genuinely affected somehow by losing one of what he thought was "his own" in terms of patients, even though he never dealt with Rob.

The nurse in me came forward and explained that when Rob was born he was given a prognosis of 6 to 12 months. Months. And that through the hard work of people just like himself, this doctor, Rob was able to enjoy 37 years. Years. And here is the baby that is the result of that. So thank you.

I have gotten uncannily adept at breaking this news to people. I always anticipate it before it happens, I prepare my face for the moment, I break the news, and then I reassure everyone that it is Ok. However, I knew this appointment, and the moment that it would bring, would be especially poignant. And I walked out of there with excellent news about my daughter.

Overall, and I can say this with all certainty, life has been better to me than it has been bad.

*****

Also, I might be going to Jupiter, FL on a really spur of the moment deal. Every cell in my body says GO GO GO and yet I need to sleep on it one more night in case some little voice in me says no...no...no... I hope that doesn't happen but it's super-short notice.