Eden's heart

Yesterday morning I received an e-mail from a friend who has a baby that has been very sick since her birth. She had received some additional bad new. This mom is a great lady of faith and I tried to encourage her with scriptures and prayer. Larry came home for lunch and I shared with him the latest news and we both said how blessed we were to have healthy children. That we should never take them for granted. We prayed, and went about our day, but I was unable to get that baby and those thoughts out of my head.

Later that afternoon, Eden Josiah and I went to Larry's office. Eden knocked on the door. I asked if he wanted to have a study break and come play with us (see post below) I am so glad he did. We had a wonderful time playing and laughing together. Enjoying being a family. It was such a beautiful time. I am so glad we had that time together because 2 hours later we were in the ER with Eden.

After we played, Larry went back to work. The kids and I came home to rest and get ready for Wednesday night service. Josiah was pooped so I laid him down for a nap. Eden got some juice and watched Dora while I was reading through my lesson. Eden came up to me and wanted to be held. (Not like my independent girl.) She said, "night night Momma," and laid down on me. I could feel her heart beating so hard through her chest wall and realized how pale she looked. I ran and got out the stethoscope and tried to count Eden's heat rate, but I wasn't able to keep up. It was beating too fast. I called Larry and he ran home. He couldn't get the count either.

So I called Amy. She's a friend of mine who lives nearby. She also a nurse. I explained what I thought was going on and she was at my house 5 minutes later. ( Amy, I love you and am so thankful you were here) She couldn't get a count either. So she cradled Eden in her lap and put her feet up. She said her best guess was that it was in the 260's. We called Eden's Cardiologist and he was paged. We took off to the ER.

On the drive to Pitt, The cardiologist called my cell and wanted us to go to the local hospital to get her on a monitor ASAP. (We live 45 minutes away from Greenville. The local hospital was 5 minutes away) We pulled in and Eden was on a monitor within 3 or so minutes of us walking in the door. While the nurse was hooking Eden up, the Cardiologist was calling the ER to give them instructions on how to treat Eden, I love our Cardiologist!

The Nurse said give me a minute and I'll give you some numbers. Eden was scared at this point and looked wiped out. She didn't want to be hooked up to the monitors. She didn't understand what was going on. I had to hold her and show her the monitors didn't hurt. We got her hooked up and I couldn't believe what I saw. 278!!!! I said, "is that right? Is it really 278 beats per minute?" The nurse said, "yeah, it's 278." She yelled something in the hallway and then the room was full of people.

Larry and I were told there was two ways we could treat her. The less invasive was to stick her face in Ice water. That is a Vagal nerve stimulus, and should reset her heart. If that didn't work they would use medications or shock her. We agreed to do the water first .

They filled a bucket of water and I pushed Eden's face in it. She was angry and cold, but her heart immediately converted when she took that deep breath. So did all of us in the room. I sat there thanking Jesus and watching the monitor praying it would stay at the 145-150 range. It did! Then it lowered down into the 130 range. I cuddled Eden and the room emptied. Larry and I just stared at one another, not saying anything. Just dazed and thankful that she was ok. An hour later we were on the way home.

Now is the hard part, the wait and see part. The Cardiologist has put Eden on a heart medication to slow her heart down. We have to have blood test done regularly to make sure that she doesn't get toxic levels of this medication. But it is supposed to be free from side effects.

Eden's condition is called SVT. (Supraventricular Tachycardia) She was diagnoses at 2 months, but hasn't had another episode that we knew about or had recorded until yesterday. We're in a wait and see because Eden is so young and can't really tell us how often it is going on. We are praying that this episode has not done any damage to her heart. We have an appointment on Oct 19th to do further test.

I am so thankful Eden came to cuddle with me and that I noticed her heart. I wonder how many other times it could have happened and I not noticed. I worried it was because we were outside playing. The what if's seemed overwhelming last night. The worry was overwhelming. The tears came when I calmed down and the kids were safely tucked in bed. The reality of the situation was sinking in. We had thought Eden had outgrown this, but she hasn't.

After a great talk with my sister and prayer with Larry, I realized that I needed to be thankful for so many things that took place. I am thankful I noticed this episode. I am thankful that there is medication that can help. I am thankful that Eden converted to a normal rhythm without medication or being shocked in the hospital. I am thankful for the sweet nurses and doctors who took wonderful care of Eden. I am thankful for Amy's friendship, calm nature and her willingness to watch Josiah while all this took place. I am thankful for the many people who were praying for Eden while we were at the hospital. I am thankful for our church family who love our children as they would their own. I am thankful for our family who love us and would leave in an instance to be with us if we would ask.

Most of all I am thankful that I can look back on the Scriptures I shared with my friend that morning, and know the Truths I was trying to share with her are applicable to our situation as well. I told her that there is nothing that ever happens to us that hasn't been sifted through the hands of our loving God. God has given us a child with a special heart. He trusts Eden to Larry's and my care. He knows her and loves her better than we do. And no matter what happens with Eden, God is in control! In all of this, I pray He receives the Glory!

Thank you Jesus for my sweet girl and for her special heart.