Concealed Accessory Pathway...huh?

As you all know Daylon has been diagnosed with Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT). This means that in addition to normal pediatric visits, Daylon's first 6 to 12 months (hopefully no longer than that) will also include appointments to a pediatric cardiologist. The first cardiologist appointment was this past Friday.

Before diving into the details of how Daylon's first appointment went I'm guessing most of you might still be wondering what SVT is exactly. Unfortunately there seems to be a lack of material on SVT, at least for non-medical persons. General materials on cardiology are plentiful but documentation on specific cardiac studies, such as bradycardiac and tachycardiac arrhythmia conditions, have been hard to find. Daylon's cardiologist provided us with some materials that describe basic cardiology and arrhythmias, and the following is a crude overview of those materials as best as I can decipher and understand it.

The heart as a pump
The heart has four chambers; two receiving chambers on top and two pumping chambers on the bottom. For the heart to function as a good pump, the top chambers (the atria) must squeeze first, filling the bottom chambers with blood. The bottom chambers (the ventricles) then squeeze, pumping blood from the right side to the lungs to get oxygen and from the left side, out the aorta to the body.

The normal electrical system
The normal pacemaker of the heart is on the right side in the top chamber. It controls the normal heart rate automatically (faster when you run or are excited, slower when you sleep or rest). An electrical wave passes from the pacemaker (also called the sinus node) through the top chambers of the heart, much like the ripples from a pebble thrown in a puddle. This electrical wave makes the top chambers squeeze.

The only way for the electrical signal to get to the bottom of the heart to make the ventricles squeeze is through the normal conduction system. This conduction system is like a cable the runs from the atria to the ventricles and is called the atrioventricular node (AV node). This AV node cable has a delay mechanism in the upper part that slows the electrical signal. When the signal reaches the middle of the heart, the electrical wave spreads rapidly to the bottom chambers making them squeeze. Once that happens, there is no way (normally) for the electrical signal to get back up to the top part of the heart.

The normal sequence of electrical events, therefore, allows the normal top-delay-bottom squeeze of the heart muscle for normal heart pump function.

Abnormal heart rhythms
Abnormal heart rhythms can be too slow or too fast. Slow rhythms are called bradycardias. Fast rhythms are called tachycardias. Daylon's condition is of the tachycardia type so I won't write anymore on bradycardias.

There are many types of tachycardias. Some are only located in the upper chambers of the heart (for example, atrial tachycardia, atrial flutter), some are located only in the bottom chambers (ventricular tachycardia or VT) and many involve both the top and bottom chambers (supraventricular tachycardia or SVT).

Remember in a normal electrical system that the only way for the impulse to get from the top to the bottom of the heart is through the AV node. Sometimes, even if the heart is structurally normal (normal valves and chambers), there is a "short circuit" in the system. If you consider the AV node the normal electrical connection in the heart, these short circuits may be called "accessory" (extra) connections. They are tiny strands of muscle, smaller than a piece of hair, that bridge the areas where the atria meet the ventricles. This allows an electrical impulse to get from the top to the bottom through a route other than the AV node and can also conduct from bottom to top, allowing impulses to get back up to the top from the ventricles after a normal heart beat.

There are two main problems that accessory connections permit. The first involves conduction from top to bottom. If an abnormal atrial rhythm call atrial fibrillation occurs, the top of the heart beats very fast and irregularly (quivers like jello), the accessory connection can allow rapid conduction to the ventricles causing ventricular fibrillation. This is very rare, but very dangerous and life-threatening. Daylon does NOT have this sub-type of SVT. The second problem is with conduction form bottom to top. Normal conduction does not allow this to happen. Sometimes, the accessory connection does and the electrical signal "re-enters" the top chamber of the heart. Once that happens, the normal conductor doesn't care where the impulse comes from and it conducts again to the bottom chambers. A tachycardia "circuit" can be set-up, with a fast rhythm going top-bottom-top-bottom-top...until somthing makes it stop (vagal maneuvers or drugs such as Digoxin). This second sub-type of SVT is indeed what Daylon is most likely having episodes of.


Phew. Now, Daylon's appointment. He had both an electrocardiogram (EKG) and an echocardiogram (ultrasound). The EKG quickly told the cardiologist that Daylon does NOT have the Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome SVT. WPW is an SVT where if an abnormal conduction pathway runs between the atria and the ventricles, much like an accessory pathway, the electrical signal arrives at the ventricles sooner than normal. The cardiologist was quick to note that this SVT is not good at all so it was a relief to hear that Daylon's SVT is of the above mentioned non-life threatening accessory pathway SVT. The ultrasound indicated that Daylon does indeed have a murmur as well but it is benign. Another interesting bit that the ultrasound revealed is that Daylon's heart has a tiny, tiny hole called a patent foramen ovale. This too is benign and can actually be found in 25% of adults apparently. The ovale hole is a mechanism that helps the unborn baby and his or her heart pump normally while in the placenta. During the strenuous laboring and birthing process this hole seems to close up, but in plenty of cases this hole persists after birth and closes as the baby ages and grows. The cardiologist also noted that Daylon most likely had a brief SVT episode while being examined under the ultrasound.

A nurse weighed Daylon after the ultrasound. He is at 8 pounds 11 ounces, having gained almost a full pound in one week! Because of his growth and increased body weight Daylon's dosage of Digoxin has increased. After six months of Digoxin and with Daylon's continued body development the goal is to hopefully have the number of SVT episodes or occurrences as close to 0 as possible, if not 0. The other goal is that the condition will have been outgrown or in the process there of and that we can start weaning him off Digoxin medication. Note that the Digoxin medication (derived from the foxglove plant) keeps the heart in normal rhythm as much as possible and tries to keep the heart from using, in Daylon's case, the accessory pathway that causes the heart to race. Simply put, Digoxin keeps the number of SVT episodes to a minimum in hopes that as Daylon grows his heart will out-grow the SVT.

And finally tomorrow we are scheduled to take Daylon in to get fitted for a Holter device. This device provides for a continuous 24 hour period EKG reading. Though the cardiologist is almost positive Daylon has the accessory pathway SVT sub-type, the 24 hour reading will give the doctor a very accurate assessment of the SVT condition and will also indicate how well the current dosage of Digoxin is working. In one month we are scheduled for another visit to review the progress of Daylon's SVT and to review his body weight and dosage of Digoxin.

3 Weeks Old

Daylon is 3 weeks old! He. Is. Beautiful. And healthy. And hungry. And fills his diapers well. And cuddly. And smiley. Jeanne and I are totally in love with him!

Tomorrow (or this morning rather) we head to the cardiologist to get a current status on Daylon's supraventricular tachycardia condition. Not quite sure what sub-type of SVT Daylon has, certainly a question I'll try and remember to ask the specialist. We are praying that we'll find that his body is 'working' or 'healing' itself out and that we can start to wean him of his Digoxin medication. Later on in the day I'll post an update on how the appointment went.

In the meantime, photos, lots of them!!!


That boppy sure is comfy!


Aunt Joanne.


Uncle Andy.


Cousins Daylon and Jude.


Cousin Jude.


Daylon's first bath.






Jeanne, Daylon, and Cousin Kaia.


Cousin Kaia.


Cousin Kaia and Uncle Woody.


Aunt Brinda.


Proud Grandparents.


Grandparents and Grandchildren. I love this shot!






Hi there bright eyes!




3 weeks old!

Daylon's Homecoming!

At 11am this morning our Daylon was discharged from St. Vincents NICU! Beyond words how wonderful it feels to be home with our son. All I can do is sing Praises to the Lord! Photo time!


May 29. Snuggle time with Grandma Forbes.


June 1. Proud, beautiful mom!


June 1. Meeting Grandma and Grandpa! Grandpa gave him his first noogie! And Grandma started him out right with a jersey t-shirt of Griffey Jr.!


June 2. Finally get to go home!


June 2. Simply....perfect!


June 2. Giddy-up! I want to go home =)!


June 2. Proud parents just arriving back home.


June 2. Post feeding comatose =).


June 2. Sweet, sweet boy. In love.

Baby Daylon

On May 27, 2009 at about 6:15pm our son Daylon Emery Wood was born. Our beautiful boy is here!

Over the past 8 and half months we had the perfect pregnancy. We prayed and prepared for an all natural process and birth through and through. But on his birthday and during a regular weekly midwivery visit we were very suprised to find that Daylon's heart rate was at a scary 200-220. Our wonderful midwife hustled us over to the hospital here at St. Vincents and after evaluating his heart rate some more and taking a look at his heart via an ultrasound it was determined we needed to have an emergency c-section performed.

Jeanne. Was. Awesome. I love her so, so much. What a rock. But our little man was giving us more of a scare when his heart starting racing at around 240-250 right after his birth. I followed him into NICU where immediately he was put on monitors and IVs. Broke my heart and I had plenty of tears. Even more tears came when a few hours later and with plenty of medications in him for the determined condition I mention below his heart rate was dropping which was good but he was struggling to breathe. He finally normalized around 7am on the 28th.

It was determined that he has Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT), not life threatening, but certainly scary when dealing with the heart. Basically his heart and the electrical methods that fire his heart into pumping are doing so off rhythm and when natural Valsalva maneuvers don't succeed, medications are needed to get the heart calm. His body could decide to completely normalize and have no need for meds in a day, a week, but most likely it'll be a few months before he'll outgrow the condition.

We named our son Daylon Emery after Daylon Emery Harrington who passed away over the Memorial Day weekend. Our deepest condolences, love, and prayer to his family. From the bottom of our hearts we so, so, so much appreciate the Harringtons' blessings to name our son after their son. What an honor and privilege.

Praises to the Lord for giving us such a beautiful, perfect, healthy baby boy. And all our love, prayers, and thanksgiving to all our family and friends for their love and prayers! We sure can't wait for you all to meet him.











Update: Monday June, 1. Jeanne was discharged yesterday and was sent home with some nice pain killers and well wishes from the wonderful doctors and nurses. We have continued to go back to the NICU almost every 3 hours to feed and change Daylon, and of course hold and snuggle with him. Tomorrow is a big day! He is coming home! We picked up his Digoxin medication for his heart, learned exactly how to administer it and listen to his heart with a home stethoscope, and Jeanne and I feel well prepared for having him home given he has been on a pretty consistent diaper/feeding schedule in the ICU. All is ready for him. Lord, we ask for your wisdom and for your love.

With all our hearts we love and thank our Lord, family, and friends!

Daylon

Here are a few links about our close friend and brother in the Lord.

Here and the Upper Rogue Independent has the obituary here.

All our love and prayers to him and his family.

The blog above had this fantastic photo of him! Thought I'd repost it here.

Twisted Cereal Boxes

This was too fun and too weird not to post! Amazing artwork at the very least. Below is a little 'taste' of what the link is about.

FlightStats for Android

Today the company I work for officially released version 1 of an application for Google's Android platform. Being the main developer for the application I found it an overall pleasant experience but not without it's frustrations and long hours. The team has a list of future improvements and add-ons which I'm hoping to complete in the next couple of weeks for an 1.1 update. But for now I'm taking a quick breather and hoping for good market reviews, and of course a million dollars or more in sales =).

Unfortunately there isn't an easy way to browse Android's market place without a phone but check out this site out for a quick overview of what the application is about. And be sure to read about the application on FlightStats.com.

Update Here are a few screen captures of the application.





Update A nice overview/review found here.

Our Baby Boy!

We had our second ultra-sound appointment today. We have a boy on the way! Everything is going perfectly at 19.2 weeks along! We've been itching to get his room going so now we can move full speed ahead painting and littering the room full of soccer and Star Wars! Enjoy the pictures!

The Scorecard

This past Christmas saw many fantastic, enjoyable, and downright hilarious games played. Jeanne and I met my brother, Brinda, and Kaia at my parent's home the weekend after Christmas and that Saturday night mean games of 'Crap on Your Neighbor' were played (officially 'Crap' should be replaced with a more graphic expletive but I'll go with 'Crap'). Those playing were my cousin Sophie, my Uncle Phil, Mom, Dad, Andy, Brinda, and myself.

The scorecard above shows the one game Dad got plenty o' crap dumped on him, as did Sophie, but we'll focus on Dad. Were we as the other players sad or feeling sorry? Nope, not at all. He deserved every single point. I offered to post the game here on my blog for history's sake and with that he proceeded to rip the sheet up. I'm guessing he did so out of embarrassment knowing full well such a high score had never been attained in all his years of playing the card game. But before he discarded it I zip locked the shredded paper promising to reforge the card with tape. Behold it has been posted. History has been preserved. Til the next time we play Dad, here's wishing you sweet pleasant dreams of jokers being played on you.

Have I rubbed it in well enough? =)

Why I love Linux

Baby, Baby, I'm taken with the notion...

(couldn't help myself with the title of the post =) )

Baby on the way!

This past Friday we had our second visit to the doctor. All is going perfectly! We had such an exciting half-hour seeing for the first time our baby via the ultra-sound machine. It is beyond the two of us to try and put into words just how wonderful it is experiencing God's miracle hands. June 17th is the projected birthday, which means we are just at 13 1/2 weeks along. We are so, so eager to meet him/her. Until our next appointment in January we'll be staring and oogling over our ultra-sound picture below.

...To love you with the sweetest of devotion...(okay, enough Amy Grant)

A New Hope

Quick Quotes

Senator Barak Obama, 2001:

But the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth and more basic issues of political and economic justice in this society. And to that extent, as radical as I think people try to characterize the Warren court – It wasn’t that radical. It didn’t break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the founding fathers in the Constitution, at least as it’s been interpreted and Warren interpreted it in the same way that generally is a charter of negative liberties..Says what the federal government can’t do to you but it doesn’t say what the federal government or the state government must do on your behalf.

Thomas Jefferson:

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.

A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor and bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government.

Nikita Khrushchev, former Premier of the Soviet Union:

We can’t expect the American People to jump from Capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving them small doses of Socialism, until they awaken one day to find that they have Communism.

Our Lord Jesus, in Mark 10:

You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.

"You Win!"

Get all your political frustrations out by playing Mortal Kampaign. Biden's 'shooting feet out of his mouth', Obama's deadly dove's, and Palin's shotgun attack moves are all priceless!

Uncle Owen!? Aunt Beru!?

Christianity and Politics

A worthy read.

Jude Michal Mardock