My Miracle Anniek Who Has Tetralogy Of Fallot: Finally A Diagnosis

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Finally A Diagnosis

Well we have seen a TON of specialists and they have the blood cultures back now so they have an official diagnosis for Anniek now. She has Post Strep Reactive Arthritis. Basically the Strep throat spread to her blood and her joints. So she will need IV antibiotics for 4-6 weeks. The physio therapist got her walking with a walker and tonight she finally decided to try walking without the walker for the first time. So hopefully tomorrow the physio therapist will approve her not having a walker any more. She is a lot more herself and has more energy now.
I asked them to put a PICC line in so that she is able to come home. A PICC line (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) is a form of IV access that can be used for prolonged periods of time. Anniek had one when she was a baby and in the hospital for 2 months, so I knew that you could come home with a PICC line. They said that they thought that would be a good idea and put in a request to have a PICC line put in.
They also changed her 2 antibiotics to 1 antibiotic that the culture was sensitive to.

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Anniek's Heart

Tetralogy of Fallot is a congenital heart defect (a problem with the heart's structure that's present at birth). Congenital heart defects change the normal flow of blood through the heart. This is a rare and complex heart defect. Tetralogy of Fallot is made up of four different heart defects that are:

Ventricular Septal Defect

The heart has a wall that separates the chambers on its left side from those on its right side. This wall is called a septum. The septum prevents blood from mixing between the two sides of the heart. A VSD is a hole in the part of the septum that separates the ventricles—the lower chambers of the heart. The hole allows oxygen‑rich blood to flow from the left ventricle into the right ventricle instead of flowing into the aorta, the main artery leading out to the body.

Pulmonary Stenosis

This is a narrowing of the pulmonary valve and the passageway through which blood flows from the right ventricle to the pulmonary arteries. Normally, oxygen-poor blood from the right ventricle flows through the pulmonary valve into the pulmonary arteries and out to the lungs to pick up oxygen. In pulmonary stenosis, the heart has to work harder than normal to pump blood, and not enough blood can get to the lungs.

Right Ventricular Hypertrophy

This is when the right ventricle thickens because the heart has to pump harder than it should to move blood through the narrowed pulmonary valve.

Overriding Aorta

This is a defect in the location of the aorta. In a healthy heart, the aorta is attached to the left ventricle, allowing only oxygen-rich blood to go to the body. In tetralogy of Fallot, the aorta is between the left and right ventricles, directly over the VSD. As a result, oxygen‑poor blood from the right ventricle can flow directly into the aorta instead of into the pulmonary artery to the lungs.

An Extra Heart Condition That Anniek Has Is Left Pulmonary Artery Stenosis

Pulmonary Artery Stenosis

Pulmonary artery stenosis is a narrowing that occurs in the pulmonary artery, a large artery that sends oxygen-poor blood into the lungs to be enriched with oxygen. The narrowing may occur in the main pulmonary artery and/or in the left or right pulmonary artery branches. This narrowing makes it difficult for blood to reach the lungs to pick up oxygen. Without enough oxygen, the heart and body cannot function as they should. In an effort to overcome the narrowing, the pressure in the right ventricle (the chamber that pumps blood into the pulmonary arteries) rises to levels that can be damaging to the heart muscle.

My Miracle Anniek Who Has Tetralogy Of Fallot

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Finally A Diagnosis

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