Stroke

It has been confirmed that Mason had a stroke. The MRI showed damage in the back left side of his brain but the artery leading to it now is wide open. As soon as the diagnosis came in at 6:30 tonight, things started happening. Within minutes, they were there to give him an EKG and said that his cardiologist would be there in 15 minutes to do an echo to see if there were any other clots. His EKG and echo looked the same and she could not see any other clots. Now, an echo is not as good as a heart cath. She will be calling Mason's surgeon in Michigan in the morning to find out if they want to do a cath or add another med to thin his blood. If a cath needs to be done, we will be going to Michigan. We should know more in the morning. Those are the facts. How do a feel about this? I am pretty calm and in a good place. I actually wasn't at the hospital when the doctor gave the diagnosis to Randy. I was at home recharging for another long night at the hospital. While at home I got to thinking about what the worse possible outcome could be. I knew we could handle another med for seizures but kept thinking about the worst. I really believe that this is what had prepared me to handle the true outcome because I had already thought about what could be. Although I wish Mason would not have had the stroke, I do realize that we are very fortunate. Mason has regain most, if not all, of the function in his right arm. It is hard to tell today since he is still feeling the effects of the sedation drug. We should know better tomorrow. I am focusing all my energy on how do we make sure that this doesn't happen again. How do we protect our baby from this happening again? Because next time, it may not be the good of an outcome. We know Mason is going to need a pre-op cath for his next heart surgery so I say we go ahead and do it. This will give us a better idea if there are any other looming stroke risks and we would find out if he is ready for his next surgery. Unfortunately, I am not a doctor and won't be making this decision. Thank you all for keeping Mason in your thoughts and prayers. Please keep them coming. I truly believe I have a miracle baby. 25 years ago they had no way of treating his heart condition or his lung issues. The pediatrician that heard his heart murmur when no one else did gave him a chance to live. He coded 3 days after his first heart surgery and we were told that 1 out of 500 survive that type of complication. He has now had a stroke and has recovered only days later. MIRACLE?? I think so!