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Wyatt Scott Shaffer
 
 
Please sign Wyatt's prayer chain (guestbook).  
I would like to show him all the people who were 
praying for him!

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10/10/03  3:08PM.  After a little high temperature scare, we are back on track! Wyatt saw Dr. Mangano today! The Doc. thought he looked GREAT! He said no more medicine, and no more cardiologist appointments for 6 months! He gave us strict orders that he is to get anything he wants and should be playing often. Thanks again for all your support!!

9/27/03  3:55PM.  Wyatt had a great doctors appointment on Friday. They are very pleased with his progress. His heart rate is maintaining a good rate, and shows no signs of collecting fluid. The blockage that they opened up is now allowing blood to flow at a normal rate. They have taken him off of one medicine and starting to reduce the other two. He is doing great! We are so proud of him. As I mentioned before, it is a darn good thing that he can't talk yet, because if he could... he would have about 15 puppies by now!

9/16/03  6:07PM.  Wyatt is doing great! Derek and I can see improvements in him every day. Pretty soon he will be back to his old self. As you can see from the picture below, he is so proud of how tough he is!

9/13/03  8:30PM.  WERE HOME!!!

9/13/03  8:30PM.  I wanted to show you exactly what they did. The diagram below was drawn by Dr. Wolfe. It is a "map" of Wyatt's heart. There is a line labled VSD. That is where the hole between the lower two chambers was. They closed off that hole. The area they opened up is labled with the +++++++ type of line. They actually opened up the heart in two areas.

9/13/03  10:30AM.  We just got the great news, they're preparing to discharge Wyatt. A doctor was just in and went over everything with us and is writing prescriptions for Wyatt, and then we're busting out of here. THANKS SO MUCH TO EVERYONE FOR KEEPING WYATT AND OUR FAMILY IN YOUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS. SEE YOU SOON!

9/13/03  8:36AM.  Wyatt had another good night. We are waiting for Dr. Mangano to come in and evaluate him this morning. Hopefully he will let us know when we can come home. I will update the site again as soon as we see him.

9/12/03  8:27PM.  Today has been a really good day. Wyatt is almost back to his old self. He just doesn't roll yet. Derek & I want to thank you for all your well wishes and prayers. We check the site a couple times a day. It has really been a great source of support and encouragement for us. It looks like things are on track for us to come home sometime this weekend. We will hopefully know for sure when Dr. Mangano sees him tomorrow morning.

9/12/03  1:46PM.  Wyatt had his pacer wires removed early this afternoon. They were wires that went directly into his heart that the doctors could use if they needed to use a pacemaker on him. Luckily we never had to use them. The only wires he has left are his heart rate monitor, breathing monitor, a pulse ox monitor, and a site to insert any IV meds. Things are looking great!

9/12/03  9:00AM.  Wyatt and I spent our first night together. He did great! He was such a sweet little boy. All the doctors and nurses can't stop saying how cute he is! Anyhow, I was able to get some sleep. (That is when the nurses weren't coming in to check him... which was every 2 hours! :) But it was all worth it just to be able to stay with him all night. He is nursing now, and Derek helped me give him a bath this morning. I don't think it will be long before he is home!

9/11/03  10:10PM.  Well it is official. We are now on Level 2 and out of the PICU. Wyatt has a great room where we can stay with him. He is doing wonderful. Derek has held him, and he is beginning to play again! We hope to get home sometime over the weekend.

9/11/03  7:10PM.  Wyatt is doing well, and had a visit from Woody, who is a guitar player who visits children while they are in the hospital. He also received a visit from Wyatt, a theraputic dog that visits patients. We thought it was quite funny that the dog was also named Wyatt. Wyatt has been up much more this afternoon, and even caught about an hour of sportscenter while Tara was holding him in front of the TV. He is getting back to normal and has even began smiling again. We'll get another update on tomorrow morning.

9/11/03  2:20PM.  Small change in plans. Wyatt is going to stay in the PICU for 1 more night. Not because he needs to, it is just a staffing issue with nurses. The only way he would move up tonight is if the unit had a child come in.

9/11/03  10:00AM.  We are moving out of intensive care today. We are not really sure what time, but he will be on Level 2 today. Which are basic pediatric rooms. He now has a normal heart rhythm, and is able to keep the rate down with just one medicine. Things are looking great! We would like to thank all of the nurses in the PICU for taking such good care of our little man. Especially, Monica, Gary, Deb, Gordon, Jean, and Amy. You are all true miracle workers!

9/10/03  9:34PM.  Wyatt has had another good evening. It seems like they are constantly taking little pieces of support away, and he is holding his own. Let me just tell you, medicine poopy diapers are nothing like breast milk diapers. Man they are BAD! :) But he is all worth it. Just to see his sweet little helpless face look up at me with his big bright eyes makes my heart melt! I can't wait to get him home.

9/10/03  3:20PM.  The nurse was able to stop the medicine used to keep Wyatt's heart rate down. She explained that it will stay in his system for awhile, so we really won't know if he is maintaining his own until later on tonight. We are hoping that this will be our last night in intensive care. Keep your fingers crossed! Wyatt would also like you to say a special prayer for a sweet little girl, Faith, that he can't wait to meet. Faith is in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit)here at Danville.

9/10/03  1:31PM.  Wyatt is doing well. The nurse took out his "A Line" that was running into his wrist, and that allowed Tara to hold and feed him in a rocking chair. He still has a main line supplying his medicine to him in his neck, and that will most likely be in for a little while yet. The nurse also lowered his hourly intake of heart medicine that is intended to keep his heart rate down so that they can see if he is able to maintain it on his own. All in all things are still progressing well.

9/10/03  8:54AM.  Wyatt is doing well. He had a really good night. He has eaten a couple of times, and seems to be doing good with that. We still haven't been able to hold him, but hopefully we can real soon. The doctors plan on slowly trying to take him off the meds that keep his heart rate down. They want to see if he can maintain it on his own. They will not let him go up to Level 2 (the peds unit) until he is able to do that. Until then, he will remain in the intensive care unit. I will try to update the site again this afternoon.

9/09/03  10:00PM.  Wyatt is doing well. He has eaten 3 ounces and has held it all down. He must have been really hungary. He ate a full 2 ounces in about 1 1/2 mins. He is sleeping now, and will get a sponge bath from his nurse tonight. We will update you on his progress again in the morning. Thanks

9/09/03  4:57PM.  Wyatt has been moved from the heart room to his own private room in the PICU(room 9). He had his drip line removed from his chest this afternoon. He's still been very drowsy, but has been opening his eyes and looking at Tara and I. Since the ventilator has been out for awhile now, he's been able to fuss to us a little letting us know that he's ready to go home! The doctors are still monitoring his heart rate and giving medication for it, but this seems to be fairly common. I was able to feed him 20cc's of pedialite at 4, and Tara is currently feeding him some breast milk that she had frozen earlier for him. He held the pedialite down for an hour so they said to try the breast milk next. Tara and I can't wait til he's able to be moved to the second floor because there we can stay the night with him. We'll try and get an update on later this evening. Thanks to everyone for all your prayers and well wishes.

9/09/03  10:33AM.  Wyatt had an ok night. Not great, but not bad. He had a little bit of a high temperature. The doctors have since been able to get that down. His heart rate has stayed down with the help of medicine. The doctor hopes Wyatt will be able to control it without meds in another day or two. They took him off the breathing machine this morning. He did well, and is breathing on his own, with a little extra oxygen (the thing they put in your nose and around your ears). All in all he is doing well. The doctor is still monitoring the opening they were able to create to facilitate blood flow. Because of the way his veins branched out, the surgeon was restricted in the way he could open the space. This may mean another surgery when he is a little older, but hopefully not. Thanks for your continued support!

9/08/03  9:52PM.  The doctors have been able to get Wyatt's heart rate back down in a range that they are more comfortable with. His blood pressure has lowered also. The nurse (Gary) will sit by his bedside throughout the night. The pediatric resident and Surgical PA will be in the room as well, with the Surgeon and Cardiologist just a quick phone call away. Our next update will be tomorrow morning after we see how he does throughout the night.

9/08/03  6:27PM.  Wyatt is in the PICU now, and resting comfortably. (Thanks to some powerful medications!) They are planning on keeping him sedated throughout the night, and will hopefully take out his breathing tube in the morning. He has opened his eyes a few times and squeezes our finger when we talk to him. That is just the best feeling in the world! We are VERY proud of our little guy, and right now, he can have just about anything he wants. (even a puppy to keep at Aunt Christa's house) :) We can check the prayer chain from time to time during the day, and it has really helped seeing how many people care about Wyatt and our family. THANKS!

9/08/03  1:52PM.  Wyatt just came out of surgery. The doctor said everything was successful. He came off the bypass machine great, but is not out of the woods yet. The doctor said that they will watch him very closely for the next 12 to 24 hours. We got to see him and give him a quick kiss before they took him to the Ped. Intensive Care Unit (PICU). It will be about 1 hour before we can get into see him again. We will keep you updated. Thanks again for all your prayers!

9/07/03  9:30PM.  We are in Danville at the Pine Barn Inn (right by the hospital).  We will be leaving early in the morning and expect to have some news to report by mid to late afternoon.  Thanks for all your support!

 

9/05/03 Well, the date is set.  After consulting with all of Wyatt's doctors, now is the best time for him to have his surgery.  We need to be at the hospital in Danville at 7:30, Monday morning September 8th.  Dr. Christian Gilbert will be preforming the surgery.  We are all very comfortable with his experience and abilities.  The actual surgery will take about 2 - 2 1/2 hours.  But with the pre-stuff and post-stuff, we were told to expect 4-6 hours.  The procedure will involve full open heart surgery where Wyatt will be placed on a bypass machine and be completely asleep.  The doctor will open up his ventrical that goes out to his lungs, and close up the hole between the lower 2 chambers of his heart.  We will be updating this page at least once a day, so please check back to see his progress.  Please also put Wyatt on any prayer lists with your friends or at your church.  Because right now, everything is in God's hands.

 

We are already lucky enough to have 2 special guardian angles watching over him, Mimi Shaffer (Pat) & Mimi Shaffer (Yvonne).

 

Wyatt's Doctors

L. Timothy Wolfe, M.D. GMC Pediatric Cardiology, Danville Director of Pediatric Echocardiography Laboratory Phone: (570) 271-6563 Specialty: Pediatric cardiology Medical school: Hahnemann University, Philadelphia, PA, 1988 Residency: Albany Medical Center, Albany, NY Fellowship: Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Mass. 1990; Mt. Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY 1992 Board certification: Pediatrics/pediatric cardiology Clinical interests: General and specialized pediatric echocardiography, pediatric transesophageal echocardiography, fetal echocardiography, telemedicine applications for pediatric cardiology Additional info.: Lectures regionally on fetal echocardiography and pediatric transesophageal echocardiography

Robert Mangano, M.D., FACC GMC Pediatric Cardiology, Danville Phone: (570) 271-6089 Specialty: Pediatric cardiology Practice locations: Altoona, Danville, Dubois, East Stroudsburg, Frackville, Lewistown, Lock Haven, Montoursville, Moses Taylor, Moshannon Valley, Plains, State College Undergraduate: Gannon University, Erie, PA Medical school: Hahnemann University, Philadelphia, PA Residency: Albany Medical Center, Albany, NY Fellowship: Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, VA Board certification: Pediatrics/pediatric cardiology Year welcomed on staff: 2000 Special interests: Diagnostic and Interventional cardiac catheterization, care of adults with congenital heart disease

 

Christian Gilbert, M.D.

GMC Cardio/Vascular Surgery, Danville

Phone: (570) 271-6367

College: Ursinus College, Collegeville, PA

Medical school: Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA

Residency: Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT; Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA

Fellowship: Children?s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA

Board certification: General surgery, cardio/thoracic surgery

Clinical interests: Pediatric cardiac surgery

 
 

 

What is Tetralogy of Fallot?

Tetralogy of Fallot is a type of heart problem which consists of four different heart defects.

Some children with Tetralogy of Fallot have blue spells which are also called "tet spells." These spells occur because of a decrease in the amount of blood going to the lungs. Spells are more likely to occur between the ages of 2 to 4 months of life. They are also more likely to occur after waking up. Most babies with Tetralogy of Fallot are pink and do not experience tet spells. You may notice that when you baby cries, there is some change in color. This is expected and not a true spell.

How is it treated?
 

If your child becomes blue either with crying, during feeding, or at other times, you should comfort your baby by picking him or her up and pulling the knees up to the chest. This will help blood get to the lungs more easily. If your child does not regain color quickly after comfort and pulling the knees up, you should go to the closest emergency room. Otherwise, contact your cardiologist right away. If the baby becomes weak or limp with crying contact the closest emergency room or ambulance by calling 911 immediately.
 

Surgical correction of Tetralogy of Fallot is usually performed at our center between 6 and 12 months of age. However, if tet spells occur, surgery may be necessary sooner. Although children with Tetralogy of Fallot do not usually require medications before surgical repair, a few do. After surgery it may be necessary to use medications for several months while the child recovers.

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