The Unexpected

The unexpected usually never comes at a good time.....but this time was extremely bad timing!!!

Yesterday Mason was discharged around noon to go home from the CVICU, because he was doing very well post- heart cath. We headed right back to our home away from home to take a nap and get some rest before our family arrived (we'd had quite a sleepless night).

Around 6:30 we got a very exciting knock at the door. Mark, Kaitlin, Preston, Braiden, Ammon and Sammi ( our lifesaver nanny) had arrived after a 14 hour drive from Utah! Mason screamed with surprise and excitement as he lifted both of his hands above his head waving out our special visitors. It was absolutely precious to see Mason smiling so big as we a hugged each of our long awaited visitors. It had been a long 6 weeks since I'd seen my 4 other beautiful children.....oh how I've missed them!!!

Okay, now for the poorly timed unexpected event.........15 minutes after they arrived, Mason was sitting on the floor playing toys with the kids and all of a sudden he fell over. I figured he'd been bumped, because that's not normal for him, so I tried to help him sit back up........but he couldn't! The whole right side of his body was very weak and almost limp! Then I also noticed that his right eye and the right side of his mouth were drooping too! My heart sank! I immediately thought STROKE......he'd just had a catheter and central line plus 2 IV's which are all possible causes for blood clots.....I was scared!!

Even though after 10 minutes he seemed to be regaining his strength and after 30 minutes back to normal........after consulting by phone with Cardiology (during that 10 to 30 minutes) Mark and I took him to the ER.

Around midnight, after a CT scan on his brain, an ultrasound on his legs and groin area (where he'd had his catheter and central line, and many discussions with the 'on call' neurologist and cardiologist.........Mason was readmitted to the CV-ICU to be monitored and started on blood thinners.

The good news: Mason's CT showed no damage. The bad news: Mason did have a TIA (transient ischemic attack) which is a mini-stroke" that produces stroke-like symptoms but no lasting damage. TIAs occur when a blood clot temporarily clogs an artery, and part of the brain doesn't get the blood it needs. And the ultrasound showed a blood clot in his right groin. So, most likely a piece of that broke off and caused his TIA.

Now the important treatment of action is to try and prevent this from occurring again. Another one could be more severe and cause damage! Thus Mason will be on blood thinner shots 2x daily for several months. Right now we will be in the CV-ICU probably through Monday. They want to monitor him to watch for another TIA (very unlikely, but still possible) and Mason has to have frequent blood draws to check for the correct level of blood thinner medication before we can be discharged.

This is NOT how we planned to spend Easter!!!

Please help us pray for no more stroke episodes and that his clots may dissolve quickly. We sure hope and pray his healthy new wonderful heart comes soon too. Thank you for all your love and concern.