Rebekkah, our little miracle

Our little Bekkah has a rare heart defect called Ebstein's Anomoly which is a deformity of the tricuspid valve. She also has Wolf Parkinsons White Syndrome which makes her heart beat too fast. We found out on August 2nd when I took her to see her pediatrition because she had a stuffy nose. I felt ridiculous for going, (no mother of 7 takes her child in for a "stuffy nose") But I went none the less. When I got there the Doctor said it was just a cold. He listened to her heart. Then he listened again. He went and got a nurse to listen and then sent me straight to the emergency room to get an EKG. Her heart was beating 270 beats a minute. It's called supraventricular tachicardia. (Infants heart rate should be anywhere from 120-150 bpm) They filled a bag full of ice and held it on her face to try and convert her back to a normal heart rate. It worked for a little while, but kept speeding back up. They admitted her to the PICU. There were many scary moments, but none as scary as when they pushed Dan and I to the side, filled the room with a team of doctors and nurses, and gave her a shot of Adenosine to stop her heart. There was an erie silence while we all watched to see if it would start back up on it's own. That was the longest three seconds of my life. She spent 11 days in the PICU while they tried to figure out the right medications tocontrol her little heart. They used up all of her veins for IV's and ended up putting in a central line. When she was stable and we were ready to go home, they took it out and a blood clot formed. We were sent to the hematology wing for 3 more days while they played around with the right dosage of blood thinners for her. After 14 days we got to take her home, along with a heart monitor, shots in her stomach twice a day and 5 doses of medicine throughout the day. What a nightmare! Later we found out she has a rare blood disorder that has to do with clotting and her homocystein levels. Another medication was added. We check her heart every couple hours and give her medicine three times a day (it tastes like marshmallows! We joke that when she gets older she'll hate smores)

She turns one on July 2nd. There have been times when we didn't think we'd be able to keep her so this is a joyous milestone for our family. Throughout the year we've had many more scary moments, more hospitol stays, and more Adenosine. Bekkah is stable for now, and we all adore her. She has given us a wonderful gift. She has reminded us to enjoy every moment we have together and not to take life for granted.