Follow up care a necessitity for congenital heart defect patients
28th Nov 2005, 10:27 GMT
I read an article this evening that warmed my heart in more ways than one. The piece was written by a father who's son had been diagnosed with Kawasaki syndrome, congenital heart disease, at the age of 3. The article caught my attention because my son Devon was also diagnosed with a congenital heart defect a little over a year ago. The boy received excellent medical attention, and now a decade later his heart defect has been corrected and he has a glowing prognosis for life. However, the father's point is that although so many heart defects are fixable in our age of amazing technology, these children will need to be carefully monitored for the rest of their lives. The father states that although the current survival rate for children with congenital heart defects is now at 85%, when these children are older nearly 90% are not receiving regular follow up care. Each night as I tuck Devon into his crib, I am grateful for the technology that repaired his aorta and has given him a chance at a normal life. He does face a life of exams and tests, but that is a far better alternative to what his life could have been. Read Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
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