I was born in the second biggest city in Michigan in 1970. I was the last child of 7. My mother was 42 years old at the time of my birth, which I have been told is probably a contributing factor to my CHD. During the pregnancy, my mother had no idea that any problems existed. Once I was born, however, it was immediately apparent that I was a blue baby. My mother tells me she was shocked when I opened my mouth to cry and revealed a black tongue.
Despite my early problems I have been quite healthy. And to be honest, some of my medical history has been lost through the many moves I made in my early twenties. I know, however, that something was done very early in my infancy that allowed me to grow stronger until the age of two when I had the Mustard Procedure. My parents needed to take me to Chicago to find a doctor who was performing the procedure with an acceptable success rate. My mother tells me that I had an extraordinary ability to listen and understand the injections, catheterizations, operations, etc. that were performed on me. She said that even before I was able to verbalize, I would nod in agreement with her explanations and give my consent to any procedure without tears. (Now that I am thirty, I can no longer claim such medical bravery. I tremble and shake on the gurney before a battery change on my pacemaker).
When I was fifteen, I began to have trouble with my rhythms. This was a very scary time for me. The palpitations were so frightening that I often (mistakenly) thought that I would not make it through the night. A pacemaker and medications were finally able to control this problem and I no longer awaken in the night with a racing heart.
Over all, my childhood was pretty normal. I loved swimming, fishing, bike riding and water skiing. I could do almost anything other kids could-just far less of it. As an example of this, I remember one friend who was "resting" with me during a bike ride said, "I get tired, too. It's just that I take a two-minute break and I'm not tired anymore. You take longer".
Growing up, I always had the fear that I was making too big a deal of my heart condition. I look very healthy and as long as I don't have to climb stairs or run you would never know I have CHD. The instructions from my cardiologist were to play until I got tired and then to rest. It's hard to determine exactly what tired means. I think sometimes I did less than I was capable of and sometimes I over did it. No one wants to be the sickly kid or make every one else wait for you so sometimes I would push it and then feel like sick afterward.
When I was a child my scar was very prominent. Because we spent our summers by a lake, I ran around without a shirt on most of the time. It was the seventies and casual clothing for me meant a pair of Levis' cut-offs. Shirts and shoes were optional. As a kid of seven or eight, it didn't faze me at all to expose my scar to whoever happened to see me. In fact, I felt oddly proud of my scar. It made me very unique and I remember proudly giving some very cavalier explanations of TGA that involved something about a "backwards" heart. In my mind, having heart surgery made me brave, tough, fascinating and adorable all at once. I must have been quite a sight, because I remember giving my fascinating (to me only, probably) history to several people.
Doctors are always impressed that I have "grown" so well. However, I'm not sure that my CHD didn't stunt my growth. At 6 feet tall, I am a full 2 inches shorter than any other male in my family. And while I wear size 12 shoes, all my brothers wear 15 or larger. I also had a lot of orthodontics as a kid. The dentist claimed that was due to stunted growth. I don't know if that is true or not.
Today I am 32 years old. I have a gorgeous wife and three girls. I go to college full-time. I recently left a job as a supervisor of gang and drug prevention non-profit because it was too stressful. I really want to take care of my self and see as much of my daughters as God and my ticker will allow. My last pacer check was a few days ago and everything looks good. I am very grateful to have been born in a time and a place where so much medical care was available.
