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Triston at home the week of surgery |
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Triston at the heart walk, August 14, 2004 |
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Triston with surgeon Dr. Davis |
On August 20th 2001, at 10:38 a.m. our beautiful baby boy was born. Triston weighed 7lbs 4oz. and was 20 inches long. He was pudgy and pink, we could not have been happier to have a second son. Triston was given a quick check, and scored 8 and 9 on his Apgars, and then went on to nurse like a seasoned pro. I noticed then that he had what looked like a colorless mole on his right ear, and pointed it out to my husband; there were two smaller bumps on his lower ear and cheek. Not something I would expect to see on my newborn, but was a minor flaw and did not bother me much. Later we were visited by the OB Doctor who had delivered Triston, and he pointed out that Triston also had an enlarged opening at the right corner of his mouth. His little face was somewhat squished during delivery, as they sometimes do, which gave him a bit of a flat nose and overbite, which hid the defect. We were also told by the on-call doctor, who served as the pediatrician that the bumps on his ear were called ear tags, and they were only a cosmetic issue. However, since Triston had ear tags combined with the defect on his mouth, and some facial asymmetry, he was going to order a chest x-ray. The doctor explained that all these defects occurring on the right side, sometimes ?go along? with heart defects. This was the point where I started to get scared. Our first son suffered from kidney problems, and the stress and guilt I had felt for that were immeasurable, until this point.
Later that day, ex-rays were preformed on our newest son, who to me appeared completely healthy. The news was good, no problems with the jaw or pallet, and nothing showed up in the chest area. The doctor was not satisfied though and requested to have an echo. and Doppler. On day two of our hospital stay the second test was preformed, and we were again given good news. The on-call pediatrician and an internal medicine doctor looked on as the test was performed, and reported to me that there was ?nothing to cause any major health concerns down the road?. I immediately felt uneasy with the diagnosis.
Two weeks later at Triston?s 2 week checkup, I mentioned to our pediatrician that I had questions about his tests that were not fully explained to me at the hospital. She found no records of his tests in the file she was given, and agreed that something sounded different in his heart. We were finally given referrals to Children?s Hospital cardiology and cranial facial clinics.
In October 2001 we had our first cardiology appointment. I expected to hear that Triston was fine, a little murmur, like we had been told. I was floored and completely in shock when I was told that he had Atrioventricular Septal Defect (AVSD). Triston?s heart had a large hole between the upper chambers and a smaller hole between the lower chambers. His valves had also grown together, instead of separating. He would have to have surgery to close the holes before his first birthday. I cried all the way home, an hour and a half long trip.
In March we were told by Dr. Teske, the most wonderful doctor, that Triston was doing so well we were going to set back the May plans for surgery. In July it was finally decided that surgery would be in August, before Triston?s first birthday. We met Dr. Davis, another doctor we think the world of, who was to be Triston?s surgeon. I remember that there was something about Dr. Davis that finally calmed my fears about open heart surgery. He was very reassuring that everything would go well. On August 2nd 2002, Triston had his pre-admission testing. August 3rd, my brother and I drove to Columbus to direct donate blood for Triston. Finally on August 5th we took Triston to Children?s for his surgery. We were there at 7 a.m. and at 8:30 he was taken up for surgery.
Triston had so many people praying for him. Churches we had never been to put him on their prayer chains, and total strangers at the blood drive who asked about why we had decided to give blood for the first time, prayed for him. I knew he was going to do fine; I had no idea he was going to soar through it! We had a wonderful group of family, and friends who stayed with us. At 10:45 a nurse came out to let us know that surgery had just started. A little more than an hour later she called to say the holes were patched and his heart was beating on its own. At noon she called again to say that Dr. Davis had finished and was on his way out to talk to us. It had all gone well. Triston was extubated later that day in the PICU. By day two, most all the other lines were removed, and he was moved to 6AW to recover. The doctors continued to be amazed by his speedy recovery, and said they had never had an open heart surgery go as smoothly. On the afternoon of August 7, 2002, Triston was released to go home.
Triston continued to do very well. He had surgery on March 26th 2003 to remove his ear tags and close the opening in the corner of his mouth, and was home the same day. In his 3 short years, he has changed the lives of many people, and I tell him all the time he is destined for greatness! (A Mom?s job.) Today he is a healthy happy 3 year old who with his big brother, are our greatest joys in life.
