New Pacemaker Yesterday

My 12 y/o son came home today from Children's Hospital, Minneapolis, MN. He had severe abdominal pain May 1st. That was his only symptom. He was in complete heart block. His HR was 20-30. They are saying probably congenital though he's being prophylactically treated with penicillin for 6 months. His ASO titer was elevated w/o symptoms of strep.

Any advice, any encouragement would be great. He has a Medtronic Adapta.

Thank you

2 Comments

welcome!

by Tracey_E - 2010-05-07 09:05:27

How scary for all of you! It's so hard when everything happens too fast to process it all.

It could be congenital, or he could have developed it from the meds or strep. However it happened, he's now got the fix and once he heals he there's no reason not to expect him to be healthy and active. We have a few teen members who have had pm's for years, and there are quite a few like me who were born with CHB and are now healthy, active adults.

Did they explain to you exactly what CHB is and how the pm fixes it? It's the absolute easiest problem to fix with a pm because our natural pacemakers- the SA node- function perfectly normally. The pm just completes the broken circuit and keeps us in sync and feeling good.

I'm on my 4th pm for CCHB. I am healthy, active, a mom, a business owner. I hike, ski, work out, volunteer- I don't let anything slow me down! Most people don't even know I have it. This is just a bump in the road for your family. There is no reason not to expect him to have a full recovery and be back doing anything he wants to once he heals. If you have any questions about living with a pm, please don't be shy.

I have had 9 PMs, open heart surgery, and co-artation

by repwork - 2010-05-12 03:05:33

I would like to wish the Young Man a happy, safe, and speedy recovery. I will in 31 days be turning 40, I had open heart surgery when I was 3 yrs old and a temporary PM, then the doctor decided to install a permanent one, since those days I have had 9 PM, then in 2001 after getting struck by LIGHTNING, I had co-artation of my aorta. I would like to wish him all of the best wishes that an older Male but YOUNG at heart person could wish someone so young. I would like to extend an invite for him to join my page on Facebook, look up Charles Edward Nobles (Edward Nobles) and that is me. I would be happy to add him as a friend for any reason that he would want a PM buddy......

You know you're wired when...

You have the perfect reason to show off your chest.

Member Quotes

It made a HUGE difference in my life. Once I got it, I was finally able to run, and ride my bike long distances.