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KeegansMom02
Hi. My name is Lisa. I am the mommy to a beautiful 27 month little boy named Keegan. (Go figure.) I found this forum while doing searches about coumadin, mitral valve replacement, INR's, etc...And came upon this. I sure wish I would have know about this place 2 years ago...
Here's our story.
My son Keegan, born August 15, 02 was diagnosed in utero with "heart Problems." When he was born (5 weeks early) after some testing, he was diagnosed with Mitral valve insufficience, Tricuspid valve regurgitation and 2 large VSD's. He was on lasix and digoxin to help with his failure. To make a long story short, he was failing to thrive. He was a tiny, weak baby that had to be woke to eat, didn't move, etc...Finally the doctors decided that something had to be done. After a cardio cath, they decided to go forth with open heart surgery, though they didn't think he was strong enough to get through it. Nov. 1, 2002 at just 2.5 months old, and all of 9 pounds, he was operated on. During a long surgery, he had his Tricuspid valve repaired and his Mitral valve replaced with a St. Judes mechanical. (Though they don't currently make infant Mitral valve replacements, they "placed" one in him at somewhat of an angle.) Soon after, while still in the PICU, he suffered from a severe stroke due to a blood clot and was having seizures. They hadn't gotten the Heprin drip under control yet. They told us that our baby would never be "normal."
Now, 2 years post surgery, he's perfect! He is a completely "normal" toddler!!!
He is currently on 1.5 to 2 mgs of Warfarin daily, .025 ml of Captopril 3 x per day, and I test his INR with a pro time about every 3 weeks...
I have only looked around on this forum a small bit, though I haven't seen any other pediatric valve replacement patients on here, I am really interested seeing other's who have been through the surgery. I am hoping that I can get some input from people like you who can express in words how things are post surgery, since Keegan is still in the learning to talk stages.
Lisa in CO, mommy to 27 mo old Keegan
Here's our story.
My son Keegan, born August 15, 02 was diagnosed in utero with "heart Problems." When he was born (5 weeks early) after some testing, he was diagnosed with Mitral valve insufficience, Tricuspid valve regurgitation and 2 large VSD's. He was on lasix and digoxin to help with his failure. To make a long story short, he was failing to thrive. He was a tiny, weak baby that had to be woke to eat, didn't move, etc...Finally the doctors decided that something had to be done. After a cardio cath, they decided to go forth with open heart surgery, though they didn't think he was strong enough to get through it. Nov. 1, 2002 at just 2.5 months old, and all of 9 pounds, he was operated on. During a long surgery, he had his Tricuspid valve repaired and his Mitral valve replaced with a St. Judes mechanical. (Though they don't currently make infant Mitral valve replacements, they "placed" one in him at somewhat of an angle.) Soon after, while still in the PICU, he suffered from a severe stroke due to a blood clot and was having seizures. They hadn't gotten the Heprin drip under control yet. They told us that our baby would never be "normal."
Now, 2 years post surgery, he's perfect! He is a completely "normal" toddler!!!
He is currently on 1.5 to 2 mgs of Warfarin daily, .025 ml of Captopril 3 x per day, and I test his INR with a pro time about every 3 weeks...I have only looked around on this forum a small bit, though I haven't seen any other pediatric valve replacement patients on here, I am really interested seeing other's who have been through the surgery. I am hoping that I can get some input from people like you who can express in words how things are post surgery, since Keegan is still in the learning to talk stages.
Lisa in CO, mommy to 27 mo old Keegan
