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Me and My C H D
My name is Catherine d’Alquen I was born on 24th February 1984. It wasn’t until my mum carol Coates took me to see the G.P for my 6 week check up that he found something not quite right with me. A few days later my G.P at the time Dr. Garnet of Filey surgery referred me to a specialist team at Scarborough hospital were my mum and dad William Coates too me to see Dr. Stanton and Dr. Dickinson. Cardiologists‘. While I was there they did some further tests on me and found out I had a congenital heart defect Known as Truncus Arteriosus. They quite simply told my parents part of my heart was under developed.
Of course my mum and dad had been devastated and had never herd of any of this before, and wanted to know how it would effect me and what would happen. I not sure what they must have been thinking of as they had never herd of a chd or even the name of it.
The question my parents asked was what is it. Well Truncus Arteriosus is characterized by a large ventricular septal defect over which a large, single great vessel (Truncus) arises. It occurs when the two large arteries carrying blood away from the heart don’t form properly and one large artery is present instead. This single great vessel carries blood both to the body and to the lungs. This artery (the Truncus) sits over a large opening or hole in the wall between the two pumping chambers (ventricular septal defect). As you can see this was a rather a lot for my parents to understand.
A few weeks later I went to a hospital in Leeds called Killingbeck Hospital and saw a surgeon there Dr. Duncan Walker who would perform my first open heart surgery. By now I was going on for 7 months old. Duncan Walker explained that the operation had only been done in America before and some were not successful as you may know. But despite all this my parents took the chance and so at .
My first open heart surgery 21/11/1984 was set and it would take 8 hours. I was the first baby in England to survive open- heart micro surgery operation at the t age of just eight-and-a-half months old. I am known as the miracle baby and went down in medical history.
By the time I reached the age of 8 years old on the 4/01/1993 I needed another open heart operation has the conduit had started to fur up and needed to be replaced, of Corse at the time it was quite straight forward operation so we went back to killing beck were Duncan Walker who was now a Mr. Duncan Walker did my second operation. All was fine and I left 0 days later. How ever there was a problem and had to be rushed back to killing beck and needed to have a cist removed that had grown above my operation scar so I went back in to theatres to have it sorted out. But there was a lot more to come and nothing could of predicted what would of happened. I started to get infections and was put in a side room just a little bigger than a box bedroom, were I spent the next 3 and a half months in that one room with just a TV. I was not allowed out of the room as my immune system shut down and I would pick up the slightest bug or infection. There is a time I remember when I had 4 doctors all sitting on my chest as I began to haemorrhage very badly from my scar as the had to leave it open for the infection. The only way I can describe it is like rice krispys popping. By now I only weighed 4 stone and was given ensure to build me up. Also I was given morphine and other antibiotics to try and kill off the infection which I had for 22 hours a day slowly been put through my body. By now my 9th birthday had been and gone and all the nurses and doctors got me a cake. I was allowed out of the room for an hour just for my birthday. By the time it was 3 and a half months into my hospital stay I was allowed back onto ward 7 which I still remember and I started to help look after a 2 yr old boy called Nathan Dobson who was a very sweet little boy and was only allowed to biscuits a day but he could never say it used to call the spice and if he wanted a lolly it was loll. By the time I got out of hospital I had been in there for 4 and a half months.
Well what about my school you may ask. I always went to a normal school never went into a special school or anything like that as my mum and dad wanted me to have a normal school life. Which I had and hated by time I got into year 9. I was bullied a lot and some of it wasn’t because of my heart condition but the way I looked. I hid my self away. By the time year 10 came up my bullying got so bad I started to say I wasn’t well or I just didn’t go. Anything but not go to school. Only reason I went back was so my mum and dad would not get in trouble. I could never tell the teachers as they never believed it and needed wittiness but no one would stand up for me and I started to make my self ill by throwing up and got very bad depression. By the time I was 16 I left I did my exams but never went up till then. Only went for my exams.
My life now, well I am married now to terry who is my best friend lover husband and enemy all in one but I love him, as he loves me for who I am. I have my dogs sandy and sheppy and me cat alfie and they are all I need. But terry looks after me the best he can and has been there for me since my mum died 3 yrs ago. My mum and grandma were the ones who stayed with me in hospital as my dad looked after my 2 sisters. So my biggest supporters have both gone and I am very thankful for terry. I left Filey were I grew up with terry to live in Gloucester to be near his dad Charlie and it’s the best move I have ever made.
My name is Catherine d’Alquen I was born on 24th February 1984. It wasn’t until my mum carol Coates took me to see the G.P for my 6 week check up that he found something not quite right with me. A few days later my G.P at the time Dr. Garnet of Filey surgery referred me to a specialist team at Scarborough hospital were my mum and dad William Coates too me to see Dr. Stanton and Dr. Dickinson. Cardiologists‘. While I was there they did some further tests on me and found out I had a congenital heart defect Known as Truncus Arteriosus. They quite simply told my parents part of my heart was under developed.
Of course my mum and dad had been devastated and had never herd of any of this before, and wanted to know how it would effect me and what would happen. I not sure what they must have been thinking of as they had never herd of a chd or even the name of it.
The question my parents asked was what is it. Well Truncus Arteriosus is characterized by a large ventricular septal defect over which a large, single great vessel (Truncus) arises. It occurs when the two large arteries carrying blood away from the heart don’t form properly and one large artery is present instead. This single great vessel carries blood both to the body and to the lungs. This artery (the Truncus) sits over a large opening or hole in the wall between the two pumping chambers (ventricular septal defect). As you can see this was a rather a lot for my parents to understand.
A few weeks later I went to a hospital in Leeds called Killingbeck Hospital and saw a surgeon there Dr. Duncan Walker who would perform my first open heart surgery. By now I was going on for 7 months old. Duncan Walker explained that the operation had only been done in America before and some were not successful as you may know. But despite all this my parents took the chance and so at .
My first open heart surgery 21/11/1984 was set and it would take 8 hours. I was the first baby in England to survive open- heart micro surgery operation at the t age of just eight-and-a-half months old. I am known as the miracle baby and went down in medical history.
By the time I reached the age of 8 years old on the 4/01/1993 I needed another open heart operation has the conduit had started to fur up and needed to be replaced, of Corse at the time it was quite straight forward operation so we went back to killing beck were Duncan Walker who was now a Mr. Duncan Walker did my second operation. All was fine and I left 0 days later. How ever there was a problem and had to be rushed back to killing beck and needed to have a cist removed that had grown above my operation scar so I went back in to theatres to have it sorted out. But there was a lot more to come and nothing could of predicted what would of happened. I started to get infections and was put in a side room just a little bigger than a box bedroom, were I spent the next 3 and a half months in that one room with just a TV. I was not allowed out of the room as my immune system shut down and I would pick up the slightest bug or infection. There is a time I remember when I had 4 doctors all sitting on my chest as I began to haemorrhage very badly from my scar as the had to leave it open for the infection. The only way I can describe it is like rice krispys popping. By now I only weighed 4 stone and was given ensure to build me up. Also I was given morphine and other antibiotics to try and kill off the infection which I had for 22 hours a day slowly been put through my body. By now my 9th birthday had been and gone and all the nurses and doctors got me a cake. I was allowed out of the room for an hour just for my birthday. By the time it was 3 and a half months into my hospital stay I was allowed back onto ward 7 which I still remember and I started to help look after a 2 yr old boy called Nathan Dobson who was a very sweet little boy and was only allowed to biscuits a day but he could never say it used to call the spice and if he wanted a lolly it was loll. By the time I got out of hospital I had been in there for 4 and a half months.
Well what about my school you may ask. I always went to a normal school never went into a special school or anything like that as my mum and dad wanted me to have a normal school life. Which I had and hated by time I got into year 9. I was bullied a lot and some of it wasn’t because of my heart condition but the way I looked. I hid my self away. By the time year 10 came up my bullying got so bad I started to say I wasn’t well or I just didn’t go. Anything but not go to school. Only reason I went back was so my mum and dad would not get in trouble. I could never tell the teachers as they never believed it and needed wittiness but no one would stand up for me and I started to make my self ill by throwing up and got very bad depression. By the time I was 16 I left I did my exams but never went up till then. Only went for my exams.
My life now, well I am married now to terry who is my best friend lover husband and enemy all in one but I love him, as he loves me for who I am. I have my dogs sandy and sheppy and me cat alfie and they are all I need. But terry looks after me the best he can and has been there for me since my mum died 3 yrs ago. My mum and grandma were the ones who stayed with me in hospital as my dad looked after my 2 sisters. So my biggest supporters have both gone and I am very thankful for terry. I left Filey were I grew up with terry to live in Gloucester to be near his dad Charlie and it’s the best move I have ever made.
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