Stories you’ll want to read

This fall we dropped our son Alex off at Bradley University.  Most of the freshman parents were struggling to maintain their composure knowing their children were leaving the nest.  While we shared their emotions, there was also elation that we had the opportunity to be here at all.  Without the work of Young Hearts for Life, we are not sure this would have been possible.  Here is our brief story.

Alex has always been fit and athletic.   When Alex was a sophomore, Young Hearts for Life came to Downers Grove North High School for testing.  Alex’s EKG showed some potential abnormalities and it was recommended we consult with our family physician as a follow up.   The doctor ran another EKG and believed Alex to be within normal range.  Concurrently our niece Elizabeth was leaving for Washington University.   College was going well from both an academic and athletic standpoint until one morning when she simply did not wake up.  Thorough autopsies were performed and literally no pathology was found either from the standpoint of a congenital abnormality or through any potential personal behaviors which could have caused or contributed to her tragic death.  Despite all of the tests available, her parents were forced to bury their daughter with the added pain of not knowing why.  Concurrently Alex was experiencing heart pains while engaged in strenuous physical activity.  We sought and were given a referral to Dr. Marek at Midwest Heart Specialists.  Dr. Marek ran another EKG and did determine Alex had Long QT.  Understanding his limitations, Alex eased his way into the track season.  As his activity rose, he began to experience more stabbing types of pains in his heart.  Dr. Marek ordered additional tests to see if they could get to the root cause of this as it was not a typical symptom of Long QT.  Given his core fitness, stress tests showed nothing.  A few more tests were run and Alex continued to push himself, ultimately running the mile in 4:59.  Shortly after this Alex had a CT angiogram, which showed an arterial anomaly.  All physical activity was stopped. It would be necessary for Alex to undergo surgery to correct this defect.    The following Thursday, Alex was on the operating table.  Nothing really prepares you for seeing you son wheeled away.

Alex responded exceptionally and was sent home with a day and a half after a 6 hour operation.  After a few pretty rough days at home, the recuperation process proceeded well beyond our wildest expectations.  He can now concentrate on getting his biomedical engineering degree and moving on with his life.  But not for the efforts of Young Hearts for Life, we cannot be certain Alex would be here with us today.  While it is entirely speculative, we cannot discount the potential of whether this could have changed things with Elizabeth as well.  Though genetic testing one of Alex’s other cousins was found to have Long QT and can take the needed steps to prevent potential tragedy from striking again.  While Alex was in surgery, I had the strangest feeling that we were actually blessed.  While some would see this as odd, looking back among the running, swimming, mountain climbing, bungee jumping and countless other physical activities, Alex was still here with us.  Everything was caught in time, which is nothing short of a miracle.

Mr. and Mrs. B.

I am personally thankful for the screening in District 204, where my youngest son, Russell, was found to have an abnormal ECG.  Russell moved to college this year knowing that his repeat ECG this August  (2010) had changed since his initial screening in 2008.   Thanks to Dr. Marek and Dr. Saleem, he is now aware that his arrhythmia puts him in a low risk category for having difficulties.   He, however, knows not to ignore any symptoms.

Johneen D.

 Dr. Marek came to our school to explain why it was important to have an ECG screening done.  This was a good thing, because before this, we weren’t sure why we needed it or what an ECG was.  We were shown a video so we would know what to expect.  Dr. Marek also showed us some newspaper clippings talking about how some students in our area have died from conditions that could be found on an ECG.  On the day of the screening, everyone was so nice and made sure we were comfortable.  I would recommend that all students have this done.

Sam M. (student)

In April of 2009, my son Cameron participated in the screening at Neuqua Valley High School.  Cameron had had a history of seizures in the past, but they had not been associated with any cardiac condition.  We were surprised when we received a phone call telling us that his ECG was abnormal and we needed to follow up with our family doctor.  Cameron ended up being treated by an electophysiologist for WPW.  In August of 2009, Cameron underwent a 7 ½ hour procedure to correct his cardiac condition.  Since that time, Cameron has returned to working out and continues to compete with his father and brother.  He will now follow up with his doctor every 2 years.  Cameron is working hard in college.  We are very grateful to the Young Hearts for Life Screening Program for coming to our school and helping our son not become a statistic.  We encourage all schools to participate in this very worthy program.

Anita S.

I can’t thank you enough for having the free heart screening available at Neuqua. It was a life saver! When I was in the gym, I didn’t know what to expect from the results of my heart test. I was alerted that my parents would be contacted and the results were sent to my doctor.  She sent me right away to a cardiologist.  As the test results were analyzed, I was told that I had a heart condition known as Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome (WPW). WPW is when an extra growth of cells is created in a section of the heart, particularly the chambers. In my case, there was an overgrowth of cells located in my lower left chamber. Luckily, it was caught very early on. I was told that I would have to undergo an ablation, and, on August 13, 2009,   I was taken into surgery to have the overgrowth of cells tested to see if they were active or not. It took seven hours and thirty minutes to finish my surgery because the cells were active.  What they did was, literally, zap out the overgrowth of cells. For six weeks, I couldn’t work out at all. I want to thank all of your team at the Young Hearts Screening at Neuqua, I, now, have a healthy heart and I have resumed my normal life. Even a year after my heart condition was cured, I still am forever in your debt for how you saved my life.

Cameron S.

Read More Testimonials