Luke Swank's Evaluation for a Heart and Liver Transplant
Todd Swank's Diary Entry for September 9, 2014
So our lives have taken a turn this summer. Our son, Luke, was born with a very serious heart condition that led to several heart surgeries ending in what is known as the Fontan procedure which basically gave him a two chambered heart. This procedure is still performed today on a regular basis, but it is known to have long term effects on the liver due to the changes in pressures caused by the Fontan. Luke started showing signs of ascites and after several tests, it was determined that his liver is now having problems that need to be addressed at some point in the near future most likely via a heart and/or liver transplant. Lucky for us, one of the best pediatric transplant centers is based at the University of Minnesota which is only about a 45 minute drive from our house.
This is Dr. Amaduri and she's Luke's new cardiologist. She's an incredibly bright lady and gave us a ton of hope for Luke's procedure. She told us about other kid's in similar situations to Luke that have gone on to get new hearts and are much healthier today because of it. We really like Dr. Amaduri!
Luke spent three days at the hospital getting every test imaginable. It caused us a lot of stress because there was an incredible number of blood draws, IV's, scans, xrays, and uncomfortable procedures. But Luke endured like a champion and hopefully has given the doctors enough data to make the most educated plan for his future. We're hoping to know what that plan will be in the next week or so but it most likely will be either a heart or a heart and liver transplant. Please keep Luke in your prayers as we prepare for these possibilities.
Avery joined us for the third day of tests. They had fun playing tic tac toe, but I'm sure they would have much rather been at home playing XBOX.
We returned home for the weekend and resumed normal behavior as quickly as possible. Luke and I lost in bean bags to Avery and Jason Hornbuckle. Which is pretty normal behavior.
Even though the temperatures are starting to drop, the boys wanted to invite a couple of friends over to go tubing. We won't have many more weekends where we can do this before winter arrives!
This bald eagle flew right over our heads while we were on the boat and then landed in a nearby tree. I remember when I was a kid and never getting to see a bald eagle in the wild and now they're all over the place. That's pretty cool.
On Saturday night, we went to dinner at the Bolligs with several of our old Nor-Tech friends. And Nick.
The ladies all looked lovely and had a pleasant time chit chatting about things that ladies like to chit chat about.
We had a very nice evening, incredible food, and pleasant conversations. It's good getting together with old friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment