So, it’s been a long week. Almost 2 weeks ago my 9 year old son started complaining of a pain in his chest. At first, I thought it was heartburn or indigestion…but when it happened every day for a week and multiple times a day, I got a bit worried. He came to me one night as my husband and I sat on the couch and said “I was just playing a video game and it started to hurt.” His eyes were glossy and he was pointing to the left side of his chest. I asked him to let me listen to his heart while it was happening. After listening, to his heartbeat I made him go let his dad listen too. After we both listened he said he was feeling better and wanted to go back to video games. After he left, we looked at each other and discussed that we must make a doctor’s appt as soon as possible because his heartbeat didn’t sound right to us. First thing Monday morning I called and got right in to the doctor.
First thing Monday morning came and the doctor got us in right away. He’s a great guy and very knowledgeable, but he wanted to call this normal chest wall pain associated with growing. I explained that I wasn’t comfortable with that because it’s been happening a few times a day and everyday. I explained that it scared me to take chances with athletes dying on the fields all the time of unknown heart problems. So in order to put my mind at ease he had us get a chest x-ray and an EKG. We had to wait for a referral for the EKG, so since it was Martin Luther King Day we went to the movies with the kids and then had the x-ray done and went out to dinner. When we got home there was a message that the referral was approved already. With the fear of something being wrong with his heart, he cried right before getting the x-ray. I think his nerves just got the best of him. He did great though even though I couldn’t be in the room with him when they did the x-ray.
I took Tuesday morning off and took my little guy to the hospital to have this scary test done. He was so nervous. I was pretty nervous too. We had to sit and wait to be admitted for almost an hour, but we worked on his school work and that helped the time pass. And kept both of our minds off of the test. When we were finally called back, the tech that did the EKG was so nice to him. She was friendly and positive and explained everything so he would understand what was happening. She asked if we had any questions before we started. She showed him the screen of his heartbeat. He and I both have no idea what we were looking at. It was a quick test…like maybe 4 to 5 minutes. She let him help take all the clips for the machine off and then took all 10 of the stickies off of him. She told him she was so proud of him for being so brave and told me the doctor would have the results within the hour.
I took my brave guy to lunch at Coco’s at his request. He had his favorite Peek-a-Boo pancakes with a side of bacon and ate every last bite!! We went home and finished a bunch of his project on Native American Indians and then picked his sister up at school. After they got started on their homework and reading, the phone call came.
Boy, oh boy do I wish that the doctor’s gut was right and not mine. The doctor started with the fact that the chest x-ray came back clear, but the EKG showed that there was something going on with his heart. He called it AV DISSOCIATION and said that his heartbeat was starting in the wrong place. He explained a bunch of other stuff too…but all I remember is that there is something wrong with my 9 year old’s heart. He told me that it could take up to a week to get a referral approved by the insurance company to go see a pediatric cardiologist. I prayed all night that it wouldn’t. AND IT DIDN’T. The call came as the doctor’s office was getting ready to close that it was approved. Now tomorrow morning I get to make the appt. I am saying my prayers that I can get an appointment really quickly. I don’t know how much longer I can handle not knowing what is going on with my baby boy!
Please be praying for us…this could be a long haul ahead.