Infant's story backs Heart Walk mission
By HAWKINS TEAGUE
Staff Writer
SYMSONIA, Ky. - Nearly 9-month-old Kash Morgan Heath is a reminder of how heart disease can alter lives, especially among young children and their families.
Sarah Keith of the American Heart Association said the organization asked Kash's mother, Emily, if they could use her family's story to spread awareness about the dangers of heart disease in preparation for the area's 2008 Heart Walk, which be Saturday in Murray. The walk will start at 8:30 a.m. behind the Regional Special Events Center on the practice field and would last until 11 a.m.
Heath said she found out she was pregnant with Kash in April 2007, but by early December, her doctors had ordered her to stay in bed because she was dilating early. After Kash was born on Jan. 29, doctors examined him and found that he had a heart murmur. They ordered a heart echocardiogram, but told her not to worry because it was a common problem.
Ten hours later, doctors came back with results that showed a much bigger problem than expected, Heath said. Kash was immediately flown by helicopter to Kosair Children's Hospital in Louisville.
“It was the most devastating news a parent could ever get,” Heath wrote in an e-mail to the AHA. “My husband, Jay, and I were terrified.”
Emily was released early from the hospital to head to Louisville. Once she and Jay arrived at Kosair, they were told that Kash had been born with a congenital heart disease with heart stenosis and also had a bicuspid aortic valve that was causing leakage.
“Because the valve was deformed, the blood wasn't going through like it was supposed to,” Heath said.
When Kash was a week old, surgeons performed a cardiac catheterization to place a small balloon inside Kash's aortic valve to hold back the pressure and prevent more leakage. After the surgery was over, doctors told the Heaths that the procedure hadn't gone as planned. Their hearts sank and they panicked for a moment before the doctors told them they hadn't needed to insert the balloon after all.
Emily and Jay were understandably quite relieved.
“They said it never happens, but the valve opened on its own,” Emily said.
Kash was released from the hospital two weeks later. Emily said he still has a bit of leakage but they are keeping his disease under control with frequent trips to Kosair, where he receives heart echoes, EKGs and chest rays with each visit.
Although Kash will always have the disease, the Heaths hope it will be a very long time before he has to have any major surgery. Heath said that at some point in the future, he might need a “cadaver valve replacement,” in which doctors will completely remove Kash's aortic valve and place a cadaver valve over his pulmonary valve.
A child has to be in his or her teens before their bodies can accept a mechanical valve.
Heath said the AHA sought her out because they were looking for child survivors. She said she was happy to use Kash's story to promote the Heart Walk because she wanted every potential parent to be aware of the risks of heart disease.
When she asked the Kosair physicians if she should have been aware of Kash's disease before he was born, they told she should have been. Although she was getting weekly ultrasounds when she was on bed rest, she said she was never told there might even be a small problem.
Heath said she hoped that by the time Kash needs to have any further surgery, there will be advancements in what doctors know about his disease and the procedures to help him.
Keith said that congenital heart disease is the number one birth defect in the United States. She encourages the public to take part the walk to honor survivors of heart disease and those who have died from it. She said she wanted the walk to be a celebration for survivors and that there would be plenty of free food available at the event.
She said the goal for Calloway County is to raise $70,000 and that about $40,000 had been raised so far.
For additional information, contact (270) 247-3267.
Story created Oct 16, 2008 - 10:55:45 EDT.
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