help!!!

My 6 year old son is just gone back to school today, after two open heart surgeries and a pacemaker (abdomen) .. We came out of hospital on 1st November... His surgeons said 6-8 weeks for sternum etc to heal but school are querying playground issue as there are 90 kids who go to play together sometimes things get a bit rough and tumble.... I was told to treat him as normal child but what is best let him get back to normal or keep him off playground for another while and if so from anyone else's experience how long?

9 Comments

I'd be careful, too

by golden_snitch - 2013-01-07 03:01:27

Hi!

I'm not sure, if I can agree with the others. In general, yes, I'd say let him be a little boy, let him play. BUT this is two months after open-heart surgery, and if you have ever had your sternum cracked open, you know that it really takes time to heal. And you know that, as an adult you'd definitely not dare to wrestle or anything just two months after such a surgery. I had to lateral sternotomies, between the ribs, and those hurt more than 6 weeks. I was very careful not to do any activity where I could get hit in the side where the incision is. Also, I was told not to get my heart rate above 130bpm for three months after heart surgery. But when you play and run around on a playground, your heart rate will speed up.

A friend of mine's son had open-heart surgery, and was not allowed to go back to playing baseball for 3-6 months after surgery. And he's not allowed to play any contact sports - never, not just after surgery. I think rough, tumbling, wrestling little kids on the playground come pretty close to contact sports. He's a great boy, very good baseball player, and though he sometimes wishes he could, for instance play ice hockey, he's happy with what he can do. He found his way. There are limitations, yes, but there are also lots of things he can still do, and he concentrates on those.

On the other hand, I totally understand that your son should not just watch the others. It's already tough enough for him to have a heart disease, not being allowed to do stuff with his friends just makes it more difficult for him.

So, not an easy to answer question. I'd probably ask his pediatrician again, and then talk to his teachers and maybe even to his classmates. And my gut tells me that I'd give him another four weeks or so to recover; 6-8 weeks after pacemaker and open-heart surgery sounds a bit too short to me.

Best
Inga

Little mistake

by golden_snitch - 2013-01-07 03:01:46

Ups, sorry, I meant that I had two lateral thoracotomies, not sternotomies. Those are incisions between the ribs just below the breast; some heart surgeries can be performed using this approach.

Inga

by Tracey_E - 2013-01-07 04:01:19

I qualified more than once, IF he feels up to it and wants to. If he's still sore and not up to it, obviously I wouldn't force a kid to play ;o)

boys

by Alma Annie - 2013-01-07 05:01:42

Go back to his doctor and ask specific questions, with time frames about what he can and cannot do, and then follow the instructions. Also has anyone explained to your son that if he does not feel so good, then to take things a bit easier, explaining what has been happening to him? At 6 he will be quite aware of things. Otherwise just let him be a normal little boy. As a parent and grandparent I can really understand your concern.
Angry Sparrow's comments reduced me to tears, about the little girl in the wheel chair and the lass with Spina Bifida. I seem to be very emotional these days!
Good luck
Alma Annie

Hi everyone, thanks for comments

by Jackiek - 2013-01-07 07:01:37


I appreciate your comments both for and against and it's good to be able to get opinions of people who understand... Particularly as we have fallen into a very small bracket here in Ireland where of a population of 4million my son is now one of 150 kids in the country with a pacemaker .... So no-one even the medics don't know much about what he is going to feel or be aware of ...there is no paediatric pacemaker specialist in Ireland so you are guided by advice of cardiologist who consults with an adult pacemaker specialist... So your first hand experience of your own is invaluable to me , even if it just makes me feel like I am on the right track and doing what I should be doing!!!

Thanks again
Jackie

Ask your doctor

by admin - 2013-01-07 09:01:54

Jackie,

I had two open heart surgeries as child (age 7 and 9) and a third two years ago at age 43. My first pacemakers were implanted in my abdomen for extra protection.

As a parent now, I realize how difficult my medical condition must have been on them. It's natural to be nerveous, but I encourage you to let him live as a normal life as medically possible so he grows to his fullest potential. My parents did just that and I'm grateful.

I was not able to play competitive sports (more becasue of my heart, than pacemaker), but I did just about everything my friends did. I played baseball, hockey, soccer and even partied my way through university.

It takes about 6 to 8 weeks for the breast bone to heal just like other bones. To be safe, you may want to discuss his activities with his doctor. If he is not complaining of pain, I would let him play.

All the best,

Blake



let him play!

by Tracey_E - 2013-01-07 10:01:59

It's been over 8 weeks now so you're already a bit past the time the dr said it would take to heal. If he feels good and wants to play on the playground, I'd say let him do whatever he wants. Ask the teachers to keep an eye on him, but other than that try to resist the urge to hold him back. Kids bounce back and adjust much faster than the adults!

I was one of those kids, diagnosed when I was 5. I didn't really understand what was going on with my heart. I never worried or thought much about it, appointments weren't scary just a great reason to get out of school, but I DID understand not being able to do the same as the other kids because that's when the other kids would make fun of me. Now that I'm a parent, I get that my parents must have been terrified and my teachers worried, but when I was 6 I didn't see past treating me differently from the other kids.

Unless he says he doesn't feel well or the dr says he can't do something, try to let him be a kid and do as much as he's able.

...

by golden_snitch - 2013-01-08 07:01:25

I'd argue differently, if the surgery had been at least a couple of months ago, maybe 3 to 6 months, but two months really isn't a lot.

Sorry

by golden_snitch - 2013-01-08 07:01:32

Tracey, it was definitely not my intention to make it sound like you were saying to force that kid to play. The thing is that the healing process isn't completed when the pain has subsided. So, even though he might feel up to playing and running around on the playground, as soon as another kid accidently hits him or pushes him or something like that, he'll probably start hurting again. So, I can understand that the school is worried. But, of course, it's also very important to let him be a kid. Like I said, not an easy decision to take.

Inga

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As for my pacemaker (almost 7 years old) I like to think of it in the terms of the old Timex commercial - takes a licking and keeps on ticking.