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I've posted here that I was raised in foster care. My foster mom is my "mom" to this day. She is amazing and her children are too. Her eldest daughter, my foster sister R, is the same age to the day as I am. She's a terrific person, a special ed teacher, mother of 3.
R's youngest son J is only 2. He was born with major heart problems and shouldn't have survived really. He has been through surgeries and been on tubes and machines always yet is developing pretty darn age appropriate and seems a really happy thriving child in spite of all of this. they knew one day he'd need a heart transplant. I think they thought it would be much later in his life.
On Thursday he was in for a surgery on his heart. Following the surgery, he had steady bleeding behind the heart and they took him back into the OR. The little fighter was in the OR for I think it was 20 hours. They had intended at that stage to give his heart a break and hook him to a heart/lung machine (life support). Sadly, it was not going to work out. They had to actually REMOVE his heart entirely. Literally he has NO heart. He is on a machine that only a couple of adults worldwide have ever had, and he is the first ever child to have this done. Apparently some German doctor is here in Canada to handle his care (thank goodness!). Without this specific procedure, he would have passed away that night.
He has a completely mechanical heart. He has apparently no pulse, no blood pressure etc. The parents have blogged it is very surreal. They briefly have wakened him a little to judge if damage was done during the 20 hours of surgery. It seems he has not had a stroke etc and came through good in that regards.
For now he is being kept alive by this machine. He is back sedated again. He has been bumped to the top of the heart transplant list. Sadly, a heart had come available but was too large for his little body. So they wait, and they pray. If a heart isn't available soon, they will operate AGAIN to install a Berlin heart for longer duration while praying for a heart. They are expressing such pain to know that get their miracle, another family must lose a young child. I can't imagine at all what is going on in their hearts and minds right now.
They are told that little J is going to be written up in medical journals now and will be "famous" (quoting the german doctor) for having this situation of living with no heart at all. I don't understand exactly what they have him hooked to that allows no blood pressure or pulse etc. Surreal for sure. But I'm so grateful this little trooper is hanging in there and being given a chance to wait for a miracle that I pray is coming.
I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. ever. Yet even sadder, is this is the most amazing and loving family. And J seems a real strong fighter. When they lessened his sedation to check brain function, he was apparently moving about a bit in bed, squeezing his dads finger and showing he was listening as they read him books aloud. What an inspiring will to live.
Please if you can, find time to rattle beads, chicken liver dance, pray, give juju, whatever it is that is your thing. This family needs every ounce of good will/vibes they can get. I keep dreading logging on to facebook, fearful to read my foster moms status and see that this battle is lost. I keep praying to read "They have found a heart!".
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