Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Heart Stuff


OK, I'm going to try to tell you what is going on medically with Grant and what is going to happen to him. If you aren't interested in the science part of the heart then just skip over this one. I'll try to say it as quick as possible.

When I posted about reading Grant's chart and looking at the list of things that were wrong with him, one of the things was he was V-Fib. "Ventricular Fibrillation (VF or V-Fib) is an irregular heart beat. During V-Fib electrical signals are very fast and irregular. The heartbeat can be so fast and chaotic that the heart muscles quivers rather than pumps. If the abnormal heart rhythm is not treated right away, VF is almost always fatal." This is from the pamphlet on the ICD. Teresa and the paramedics saved Grant's life.

(ICD) is an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator. An ICD can sense when your heart rhythm becomes dangerously fast, slows down or stops. Depending on the arrhythmia, the ICD will send electrical impulses to override the fast rhythm and bring it back to normal, or it will interrupt the fast rhythm by briefly shocking the heart. After the shock the heart rhythm usually returns to normal. The ICD can either slow the heart down, speed it up or restart it.

The procedure will happen on the first floor here at Providence tomorrow morning, if no emergency surgeries come up. They will put the unit under Grant's skin. It will be about the size of the new Nano with a couple of wires that extend off of it. They will place it on his left upper chest, under the skin but over the muscle. They will take the leads and insert them into the vein by the left clavicle and run it from there into the right side of the heart. The ICD will be visible with Grant's shirt off, and as thin as he is it may be with it on.

The ICD has a computer device in it that checks all the rhythms of the heart. It has a battery that apparently will last between 5-7 yrs, and it has a beeper in it that will tell Grant when it needs to be checked. He will have some sort of way to check it through his computer and then send that info to the cardiologist so she can assess what is wrong. The entire "generator" will apparently be replaced when the battery wears out.

Grant will need to meet with the cardiologist the first week and then a first month and then every 3 months from there on out.

When the cardiologist was telling us all the thing the ICD is capable of doing I said that it seems as if this would be an expensive piece of hardware. She said "it's like a car, a really nice car".

Grant is still doing very well. People are coming to visit and keep saying he looks great. He stands up and greets people when they come in. What a change a couple of days make.

Thanks for your replies to the blog. I'll send out more later.
Chuck

Click here to read the next part, "Big Bang"

9 comments:

Ryan Hall said...

Thanks Chuck for the updates. I am encouraged with what is going on with Grant and your family. The Lord is faithful in all things. He is worthy to get all the honor and glory. We are praying and will continue to pray for ya'll. God bless you and yours.

sar said...

i love to hear the medical part of things. it is so amazing how intricate God has made each of our bodies, & how everything works [[& sometimes doesn't work]].

i can't believe how far grant has come! we are still praying! God is faithful & merciful to heal but i know how it is to have a problem that stays with you always & that you cannot ignore. it's tough!

love you guys
sar & mark

Unknown said...

Chuck,

Great to hear of the progress with Grant! "Fearfully and wonderfully made" for sure.

Nancy and I enjoyed our brief visit last night and will continue to pray for Grant and the rest of the Weinstein family!

ABP

Paslay's said...

WOW! Praise the Lord! Thanks so much for all the updates! Our whole family has been praying for Grant and your family! God is AMAZING, we stand in total AWE!
We will be uplifting Grant in prayer tomorrow for his surgery.

God bless,
Brian, Gail, Jenna, Keri, and Kyle

Joy Malmberg said...

Chuck,
God truly is good! I take it for granted how wonderful it is to be His child! The praises that you have shared about God helping all of you deal with this trial, have been a huge blessing to me and I am sure many others. I love that song "How Deep the Father's Love for Us." I usually cry everytime I listen to it! Thanks for sharing the lyrics with all of us!We are so thrilled Grant is doing so well! God is an amazing healer!!! Please give Grant a big hug from his Aunt Joy and tell him I love him! I am really sorry that I won't be able to come and see Grant and all of you this weekend. Please know that I do really love and care about you! I am praying for you and thank God for His grace and power living in you. Much Love and Prayers,
Your sister Joy, Tyson, Kara, Abigail and Calvin Malmberg

P.S. Please give Teresa a big hug from us and tell her we think she is a super Mom!

The Shaw Family said...

Chuck and Teresa,

We just wanted you to know that Grant is in our prayers. The Bones shared your blogspot with us and we are so thankful that Grant is doing so well! Tell your family we said "Hello",

Jon and Heather Shaw
shawteam.blogspot.com

cwblogger said...

Grant doesn't just look great, he looks GRANT-ASTIC!! Yesterday he looked beat down. Today he looked as though he was coming off of a strong cold or a light flu. He looks very good! I cannot believe how much improvement there has been since I saw him on Saturday.

the Lord knows how to heal, that is for sure! What a miracle! What a blessing! What a God!

Jonathan Sarr said...

Chuck,

Please tell Grant that Sonja and I are praying for him, especially that the procedure would go well this morning.

I really can't wait to see Grant again. From the sounds of things, the transition from Saturday to today is nothing short of miraculous.

We love you guys, and your blog is awesome. I hope you don't stop blogging when Grant gets out of the hospital. :)

Jonathan

Anonymous said...

You did a good job explaining the ICD! I've taken care of several patients with ICDs in my short nursing career thus far, and they are very impressive devices! It is so encouraging to read how well Grant is doing! Praise God from whom all blessing flow!!

Christie