Care4Conway: Minor Adjustments

Monday, June 8, 2009

Minor Adjustments

Conway went back to the Orthotic and Prosthetic Lab today at the request of Ms. Deb, his PT, to get his left brace trimmed down a little. Last week we discovered it was rubbing on his poor pinky toe and causing a little blister. Jerry shaved off about 1/4 inch and then heated the material and turned it out a bit so that it won't rub there anymore. Hopefully this is makes for a better fit. Jerry pointed out how on his right foot he seems to be relying on that orthotic a lot more than on his left foot. That just indicates how much stronger his muscles are in his left ankle. He's really leaning in on that right foot. I guess that definitely means he's a lefty. We've noticed a left-sided dominance for sometime with eating, throwing, kicking, etc. Makes sense, I guess.

In other family news, we are requesting that you please pray for God's guidance as Erin seeks employment. We are really just hoping to hear His voice in this job search and know that ultimately, His plan is for the best (even if it is not what we think/thought would be the best!). Right now, however, He seems to be keeping His plan a secret. Our family's health insurance coverage is set to terminate later this summer so we are sure hoping He gives us a hint by then!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...: Hang in there! I was laid off in April. I start my new job with the same company (albeit a major cut in salary) mid July. It is a scary thought to be facing no medical insurance, I can only imagine how scary it is for you guys. God will provide all your needs. I will pray for you. Perhaps now is the time to start praying for that book deal?!
Aunt Donna; June 9, 2009 at 3:27 PM

Conway's Heart Story

Conway's Heart Story

Conway David Beckemeier was born on March 3, 2007. His heart defects went undetected during pregnancy and he was diagnosed at two days of age with L-TGA, a large VSD, sub pulmonic stenosis and Ebstein’s Anomaly. Just before turning six months of age, he underwent open heart surgery to reroute the bloodflow in his heart. Called the "double switch", this procedure is the most technically challenging for pediatric cardio-thoracic surgeons to perform. The version of the double switch that Conway received on 8/28/07 was called the Rastelli-Senning with VSD closure and sub pulmonic resection. He suffered a grand mal seizure following the surgery that lasted over an hour and had several other post-op setbacks including surgical heart block, which required another operation on 9/18/07 to insert a pacemaker. Following surgery and such a long hospital stay, Conway developed an oral aversion (he would not eat) and he was 100% NG tube fed for eight months. He also lost muscle tone and required both physical and occupational therapies. In April 2008, he had a cardiac cath and attempted balloon angioplasty on his pulmonary arteries that did not work. Although his recovery was very long, he had a solid year or so of being a "normal" kid . Then in May of 2009, it was discovered that Conway was having rhythm disturbances, specifically atrial flutter. His pacemaker allowed it to go undetected for several weeks until he showed signs of heart failure and was admitted to the ICU for a week to be placed on IV heart meds and undergo cardioversion on 5/6/09. He went home and his heart function started recovering when he had another episode of flutter (6/16/09). This time, he was again hospitalized and put on IV milrinone, but he converted back to normal sinus rhythm by himself. At that time he was placed on the anti-arrhythmia drug, amiodarone. On 7/22/09 he had to be cardioverted again for yet another episode of flutter. The following week, he got worse instead of better. His cardiologist did a full work up and it was determined that his aortic, mitral and tricuspid valves were all leaking worse and were felt to be the cause of his heart failure. On 8/24/09 he had a cardiac cath and attempted ablation. The electrophysiologist was unable to induce a single arrhythmia. Then, just two days later, he went into atrial flutter on his own. He was placed back in the cath lab where he underwent mapping and a total of 17 burns were made to try to knock out his arrhythmias for good. The next day, 8/27/09, he had his second open heart surgery to repair his mitral valve called ring annuloplasty. He also had a partial Maze procedure done. His surgeries are performed at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). This time he was discharged just six days later! His Left Ventricular function improved drastically. In December 2010 we noticed he began getting more winded during physical activity. A January 2011 cath showed that he is outgrowing his RV-PA gortex conduit, but he was not symptomatic enough to warrant intervention. In April 2012 Conway’s fatigue increased and an echo at the end of May revealed that the ratio between the right and left sided pressures has gotten too high and it is time to replace the homograft that was placed when he was five months old. He had a cardiac cath on 5/25/12 which confirmed the echo findings. He had surgery on 8/8/12 to replace his pulmonary valve and RV-PA conduit, add an additional pacing wire to his left ventricle, and change his generator to a bi-ventricular model which is shown to preserve function and help the heart muscle pump more efficiently/effectively.