Small Token -

A couple of weeks ago, Garrett called me from school....after only being there an hour. As I picked up the phone, I could hear him crying. I asked him what was wrong and he told me "Mom, my heart hurts and I can't get it to stop beating fast." Over the last few months, he has told me this a few times......and embarrassingly enough, I just kind of blew him off....thinking he had been out playing and had over-worked himself. So, when the call came from school that morning, I was nervous, and prayed I hadn't waited too long. I told him to go back to class, get the work he would need and meet me in the office. When I got to the school he was there with his teacher. She told me that he was just sitting in his desk and then his heart started racing so bad she could see it through his shirt. Long story short, I took him to the Dr. where they did an EKG and a physical exam. The Doc. had us go home and then he met with a heart specialist at another clinic in Layton. A few days ago, he called me and told me that he and the specialist were referring us to Primary Childrens Hospital for further testing. I think someone was watching over us.....because they got the referral from him 3 days ago, and we were able to get in to see the Pediatric Cardiologist there today! I was thrilled because we didn't think we would get in till August and I really wanted him checked before football starts again. After 2 hours of evaluations and another EKG, it was pretty much determined that Garrett has Supraventricular Tachycardia. To put that simply (after reading the pamphlet), it is non-life threatening and he can continue to be the active boy he is and involved in sports. However, they are concerned enough with family history and with the things Garrett is telling them are happening when he has an "episode," that they are sending an Event Monitor to our home next week that he will attach to his chest and wear for 30 days. If he feels the rapid beating in his chest, he pushes a button that will record what is happening and then the Dr. can tell us exactly what is going on. I never thought I would say this....but I hope he has one in those 30 days, so we can have complete peace of mind. The visit was wonderful, they were so nice and kind and very thorough. I wish it was possible to take the kids there everytime even for a simple runny nose! They really spent a lot of time with us making sure they knew everything! When it was just Garrett and I alone in the room, I had an episode with my own heart. I watched my 9 year old sit up on that table with sticky electrodes all over his chest, and realized how much I truly do love that little kid. Sometimes I am very hard on Garrett. I expect him to be so grown up, being the oldest. Its times like these that I understand how little he still is and how dependent he is on me as his mom. I stood up from my chair and walked over to him and loved on him. Then I just stood by his side and talked to him. Garrett is so funny and just has the greatest little personality when given the chance. The PA and the Dr. were in love with him. It was fun to watch. When we were all finished and Garrett was dressed, we walked out of the room and the nurse gave Garrett 2 small gold tokens to put in a machine to get 2 prizes to take home. The PA came out and talked to me again for a minute and as we walked down the hall I said, "What did you pick from the machines?" Garrett stopped, looked up at me and said, "I got you something Mom." I looked down to see a sparkling emerald ring in his hand. Next thing I knew.....a second "episode" happened and my heart melted. I quickly realized that Garrett had the same feelings about me while we sat in that little patient room together. Those small tokens he was given became a token of love from one little boy to his Mom.It was a special day.... and I just didn't want to forget it!