Kenslie’s story: A new brother and a new chance at life

February was a very busy month for the Shealy family from Lexington, South Carolina. Lori and Calvin were expecting the family’s fourth child. Their daughter Kenslie, 2, was ecstatic at the thought of a new baby brother. “When I was pregnant with Hollis, Kenslie kept asking when he was coming,” Lori says. “She’d say, ‘Mommy, can you just open up your belly? I want to see him.’” But Kenslie missed meeting Hollis the day he was born. Instead, she and Calvin were nearly 1,000 miles from home at Boston Children’s Hospital, where Kenslie, who had been diagnosed with midaortic syndrome, was battling for her life. The topsy-turvy month began with symptoms of the flu. “Kenslie developed flu-like symptoms on a Friday morning,” Lori says. “I took her to the doctor and came away with some prescriptions, but things got worse that night. On Saturday, we went to a pediatrician’s office that holds weekend hours, and the doctor there said her heart looked like it had a virus.” Kenslie was quickly admitted to the local hospital where doctors told Lori her daughter’s heart was functioning at 7 percent capacity. “They said her heart rate and blood pressure were both very high,” says Lori, “so she was flown to MUSC [Medical University of South Carolina] in Charleston by helicopter.” Kenslie stayed at MUSC for a few days. She was critically ill, requiring a breathing tube and multiple intravenous medications to control her blood pressure and support her fai...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Heart conditions Our patients’ stories Heart Center midaortic syndrome Midaortic Syndrome and Renovascular Hypertension (MAS/RVH) Program Source Type: news