Laughing Warrior: Arthritis

Friday, January 6, 2012

Arthritis

I was thinking today about Isaac's arthritis and how I rarely or never talk about it on his blog. Isaac had a lot of arthritis last night, some in his back and a lot in his leg. He had a bad sleep because of the arthritis. I wonder how many kids with heart issues go through the same thing. Sometimes he has chest pain, right in the middle of his chest; my first thought is heart failure, but I really think it is arthritis again, because of his rib cage being broken open with a saw during heart surgery and then being closed again with wires. I am not looking for pity,I just wonder if other kids like Isaac go through this in the winter and other times when the barometer changes so much.

Isaac's Heart Diagnosis and More

Isaac was born with Hypoplastic Right Ventricle with Dextrocardia, Pulmonary Stenosis, and VSD. He also has a leaky Tricuspid valve with moderate leakage. He had a BT shunt 1-17-03, Bi-Directional Glenn removing BT shunt 7-7-03, and the Fontan 6-22-06.
He was also born with Hydrocephalus (no shunt or brain damage), and Unilateral hearing loss (which he outgrew and only has minor hearing loss now). He also was born missing the top portion of his left ear (the pinea) which he will have plastic surgery for in a couple of years. He also has a condition with his left eye called Exotropia which may require surgery. He only has 70% of an airway which causes frequent croup, due to drainage from post nasal drip. We still find new problems occasionally, however his Heart is the most serious of all of his issues.