Medical Mayhem Part Three

Years went by and overall Lauren was in great health. No additional accidents had occurred and it was pretty smooth sailing for a while. Then one day Lauren came home after softball practice her junior year in high school complaining of chest pains. I made an appointment with her doctor, still her pediatrician at this time, and we went in.
During the course of her examination the doctor asked if there was any history of heart problems in Lauren's family. I thought about my own family and all was good. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks...Mitchell's family is riddled with heart trouble. I remembered that Lauren's aunt Christine, Mitchell's younger sister, already had a pace maker and defibrillator in her chest when he and I were dating. I used to take her to appointments.  She was only 20 at the time. Mitchell's mother had a heart device and unknown to me, he himself had been fitted with a device years earlier to this. We had not stayed in touch.
I informed Lauren's doctor of this revelation and she immediately referred us to a pediatric cardiologist for further examination. This incident also prompted me to reestablish communication with Mitchell and his family. I needed to find out exactly what condition plagued the family so tragically. I was able to get in touch with Christine who informed me that the heart problem the family suffered with is called hypertophic cardiomyopothy. Armed with a specific name the online research began and so did my complete and total panic.
This is the very first thing I read "Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a primary disease of the myocardium (the muscle of the heart) in which a portion of the myocardium is hypertrophied (thickened) without any obvious cause. It is a leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young athletes. The occurrence of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a significant cause of sudden unexpected cardiac death in any age group and as a cause of disabling cardiac symptoms. Younger people are likely to have a more severe form of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. HCM is frequently asymptomatic until sudden cardiac death, and for this reason some suggest routinely screening certain populations for this disease." Asymptomatic until sudden cardiac death? Are you kidding me? So I suppose we were lucky that Lauren's chest started hurting to alert us.
Numerous tests were performed and by the grace of God she had no signs of the disease. Due to her family history it was recommended that Lauren have annual exams as a preventative measure in order to catch the disease early if symptoms developed. During this time of testing she was not able to play ball. She was so excited when the doctor released her to hit the mound and pitch again.
The most recent exciting medical adventure with Lauren occurred on the last evening of Christmas break from school in 2012. I was giving myself a pedicure in the family room while Kevin watched television and Lauren worked on a school project. It had taken me forever to remove the blue glittered nail polish from one foot and I was about to start on the other when disaster struck.
Lauren had been cutting out letters for her project and had taken a break to go into the kitchen for a drink. When she returned to the family room she proceeded to flop back down onto the couch in usual Lauren fashion. Suddenly she popped halfway back up, yelled "Mom!" and laid over onto her side while holding the top of the outside of her thigh. "What?" I exclaimed back. I was irritated at the hard work it was taking to remove the stubborn polish from my toes while bending over and scrubbing like a maniac. I looked over right as Lauren was pulling her hand away from her leg and instantly knew we were in trouble.
Blood was starting to bubble out of an obvious puncture wound. I quickly threw her the hand towel I had by my side and told her to put it on the injury and apply pressure. In an attempt to not cause any undue hysteria I calmly turned to Kevin and said "You might want to go ahead and get your keys honey. We need to go to the emergency room." Lauren apparently had flopped down onto the kitchen scissors she had been using which must have become wedged in the side cushion when she stood up.
So off to the ER we went. I had one foot with painted toes, one without and was wearing a lovely outfit typically viewed only by family members in the comfort of our own home. Not that it was indecent just not pretty. Lauren was in her pajama set which the scissors had sliced a hole through before piercing her flesh. Kevin must have been so proud. Several stitches later we were sent on our merry way. Life with my Lauren was never boring.