SVT during CHD Week

With all this heart talk can you believe that since October 2007 we have lived like we do not have a cardiac baby. They put Ella on medication that regulated things, she never went into SVT. It was like the miracle drug until she got ahold of it. In July 2009 Miss Ella got ahold of her medication and drank it..... almost died. It was the scariest moment of my life! You can read all about that {HERE}. After her overdose we ended up taking her off of all medications to see how she would do.


Ella has had this horrible cold since Friday of last week. She had high fevers, horrible cough, and all around it has just down right SUCKED. Yesterday this cold took a different turn for us, and right now I'm just extremely thankful that I became aware in time of what was going on.


She came up and hugged me, I could feel her heart pounding out of her chest. I asked Gino where the stethoscope was and then listened. I told him to get up and come listen, and of course he thought I was overreacting, but her heart was FAST. He wanted her taken in immediately, so I went upstairs, got dressed, got Ella some clothes and called the doctor. They had me come down and Ella was still in good spirits and acting like nothing was wrong. This is why I believe we recognized this right away, because she finally started getting pale around the time that we got there.


The doctor checked her heart rate and with the first machine they couldn't pick anything up, and that's because that machine only monitors up to 200 beats per minute. Well, there's a huge sign she's in SVT. So they get another device and were picking it up at around 250 BPM. So, they were already prepared with 2 bags of ice and that's when they suffocated her with them.


Oh, my poor, poor baby girl. The last time they did this she was only a couple of months old, this time she's 2 1/2! She was screaming and saying COLD! My heart was breaking, but thankfully her heart was shocked back into normalcy.


In the event that the ice didn't work, she would have had to be admitted, and IV stuck into her (which is EXTREMELY difficult to do when in SVT) and had adenosine pushed into her veins to try to kick her heart into normalcy. In the event that doesn't work they've had to get the crash cart and shock her back into normalcy that way. The last time they did that she was 7 weeks old and her organs were shutting down, they had no choice.


I'm relieved that Ella is back on her medication, so hopefully we don't have to go through this again. This time the medication is being kept up VERY HIGH. Think above the refrigerator high... there will be no more overdoses on flecainide!


So, during CHD week I was reminded that I do indeed have a cardiac baby.  And while most days she seems like the healthiest, most vibrant little toddler out there, she's not.  But this condition makes her that much more special, and has helped me to grow even more as a mother.

Both pictures were taken after she was converted out of SVT ~ we are so blessed.