Kernika和Savera的冠心病故事
Kernika Gupta来自一个医生家庭. Her mot她的, siblings, aunts, uncles and many cousins all work in health care.
So when 她的 daughter Savera帕特尔 was born two years ago with a heart condition – four years after 她的 first daughter Veera was born perfectly healthy – Gupta’s resources were as close as a phone call away. Even still, nothing takes away the reality of having a baby with a congenital heart defect.
“I vividly remember the moment they told me,” said Gupta, who lives in Philadelphia. 我的心一沉. 他们说她有 二尖瓣主动脉瓣. When I’d been thinking about going to medical school, 我和我叔叔一起度过了一段时光, 儿科心脏病专家, 我见过有这种症状的孩子.”
晚些时候, 她的 uncle told Gupta that when he heard about Savera’s diagnosis, “感觉就像地球从他脚下掉了下来.”
她的怀孕是正常的, and because of the way Savera was positioned in Gupta’s uterus, 直到她出生后才发现缺陷. Her condition, which is more common in older adults than in babies, occurs when the 主动脉瓣不能正常形成, resulting in restricted blood flow from the left ventricle to the aorta. It also sometimes affects pressure in the left atrium of the heart, 哪一种会对心脏造成进一步损害.
古普塔也有心脏问题 卵圆孔未闭, a type of hole in the heart that eventually closes on its own. 据估计，美国有25%的人.S. population has it, and Gupta didn’t even know she did until she suffered a small stroke at age 21. She sees a cardiologist routinely; ot她的wise, she’s healthy.
她更多地考虑女儿的问题.
“She wasn’t gaining weight for a while and we were in constant contact with the pediatrician,古普塔说. “If babies don’t grow, that could indicate something going on with the heart. Even now, if she has an off day with eating, I’ll panic. Whenever we go to the doctor, I’m holding my breath that she’s gained weight.”
另外, any sort of bacterial infection – like cellulitis of the eye, which Savera had last summer – can go through the bloodstream and affect 她的 heart.
“It takes 她的 a little longer to recover from things,古普塔说. “In the back of my head, I’m waiting for that ot她的 shoe to drop.”
Savera’s condition is lifelong, and the first year was especially harrowing.
“She had a couple of instances w她的e 她的 lower legs and feet started to turn blue,古普塔说. “It was at night, and I called my uncle, who walked me through everything. 第二天，她就好了.”
Not until Savera turned a year old did Gupta feel like she could take a breath. 当她这么做的时候, she began thinking of the times she could call on 她的 uncle, 她的兄弟姐妹, 她的母亲——她很幸运, 她说, to have those resources at 她的 fingertips and wants to make that more attainable for ot她的s dealing with medical conditions. For 她的, t她的e is nothing more critical than a trusted support network.
“That’s my why; it’s why I want to give back,”她说。.
She and 她的 husband Vishal Patel spent months deciding how they could best help parents going through circumstances like theirs. 通过美国心脏协会, they decided on a gift that funds an initiative focused on delivering heart-related supplies for new moms and infants living in underserved areas of Philadelphia.
Included are blood pressure cuffs as well as infant 心肺复苏 kits and educational materials about heart health.
“We’re partnering with community organizations that have doula networks, 和他们一起部署这些工具,”她说。. “Doing so will increase the likelihood of being able to educate new moms about hypertension and ot她的 illnesses that relate to your heart. At such a vulnerable and often overwhelming point in your life, it makes the world of a difference to have a trusted individual by your side. 没有健康的母亲就没有健康的孩子.”
尽管萨薇拉的诊断结果很艰难, Gupta has found blessings in all 她的 family has been through as well.
“This opened me up to the reality of how complicated and exhausting health care can be,”她说。.
古普塔说:“我是个规划者，所以是a型血。. “Everything was so overscheduled and the first year of 她的 life was centered around doctor appointments. It was all about making sure she was gaining weight and staying healthy, 以至于我没有让自己享受 她的.”
Yes, she still worries; going with the flow isn’t easy for 她的. But Savera is doing well, and Gupta shows 她的 gratitude by reaching out.
“People need help navigating this complicated system and having emotional support while doing it,”她说。. “I am grateful I can channel all this to make a change somew她的e.”
