I am proud wife and Mammaw of two heart warriors my husband for 50 plus years, Pete and my first granddaughter Addison. I am so happy to support Addison during this campaign.
When Angela was six months pregnant with Addison, her obstetrician discovered an abnormal heart rhythm in utero, with a doppler. She sent her to specialists at Christ and Children’s Hospital for the rest of her pregnancy to monitor this arrythmia and perform ultrasounds. It was determined that Addison had frequent PAC’s (Premature Atrial Contractions) and once she was born her heart rhythm would hopefully return to normal.
A C-section was scheduled a week before her due date so her heart would not be stressed during a natural birth. When Addison was delivered at Mercy Fairfield an EKG was done right away and was abnormal. Her heart rate was in the mid 200’s and was given medication to help slow the heart rate but that did not work. Within an hour Addison was transported to Children’s Hospital by their critical care unit, where the cardiac electrophysiologist, Dr. Timothy Knilans, took over her care. He attempted a cardioversion on Addison twice, but both were unsuccessful. She was diagnosed with SVT (Supraventricular Tachycardia) and WPW (Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome) and started on the medication Sotalol twice a day to slow her heart rate. She spent a week at Children’s Hospital, half in the Cardiac ICU and half on the heart telemetry floor, being closely monitored and administered medication.
Addison continued to see Dr. Knilans and took Sotalol twice a day for six years. On September 18, 2014 at the age of six, she had an SVT and WPW ablation performed to treat the abnormal electrical pathway. The procedure lasted four hours and was a success! After one year from the ablation, with no medication taken or abnormal heart rhythms Dr. Knilans released her from his care.
Since her release of Dr. Knilans Addison has been healthy, thriving as a senior in high school, and looking forward to continuing her education in the medical field from her experience and the relationship she built with Dr. Knilans.
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