Echo of Hope

For years I considered joining the Army. Then, in 1981, the dream ended abruptly.

What happened, you ask?

Afraid of the impending invasion of Granada? Not hardly.

Concerned that I was only 7? Oh please. I’d lie about my age.

Give it all up for a woman? Charles, take Di off my hands. I have boots to shine.

All until I learned the dark truth of what they really do in the military. We all have our boundaries. This one was too much. Continue Reading »

Since our last post we’ve had a few echos and ultrasounds and things are looking largely the same. In this case the same = good.

To use one of Dr. T’s wonderful sports analogies, it’s like we’re in a race and we just need to make it to the finish line. We don’t need to win the race, in fact it’s ok if we are crawling across the finish line. We just need to get there.
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Follow up echo and ultrasound this morning. Danger was feeling shy (just like his daddy…right) so no good pictures today. He was very active. I just started to feel him move last Thursday and it was pretty cool to see him punch and feel it at the same time. Mike even got to feel his first mae geri. Danger is certainly starting to get the reps in.

Heart wise, things are looking as good as they could at this point, but there’s still a lot of uncertainty and hurdles to jump coming up next.

The Good: Continue Reading »

Here’s small update of what’s happened since yesterday’s big post-surgery update.

Danger – Overall:

Danger is awake and dancing the swim dance (see creepy 3d pics below). Making up for lost time today after his double dose of sedation yesterday. (They hit him once with the sleepy drugs in the shoulder and he kept dancing, so they had to hit him again in the butt. Then it was Sleepsville City until last night.)

Danger – Ticker: Continue Reading »

At 5:50 A.M. Erica, Mike, Linda (mom), and Toby head to the Brigham. By 7 Erica was in room and prepped for surgery. 8:45 Erica heads into surgery. 11:00 A.M. surgery complete.

Highlights: Continue Reading »

Bird, Jordan, Magic…time to step aside. There’s a new dream team in town, working the floor with a surgical precision you and the rest of the ’92 Olympians could only dream of.

Introducing Danger Schultz’s All-Star Unstoppable Roster

Coach: Dr. Wayne Tworetzky, Director, Fetal Cardiac Imaging and Advanced Fetal Care Center at Boston Children’s Hospital. He’s like the CEO of this entire operation. He’s coached 89 patients through the surgery. Here’s to a lopsided victory for #90. Continue Reading »

The surgery has been scheduled for Tuesday 10/11 so for now we’re in a holding pattern.

I’ll go back in for another echocardiogram on Monday to make sure nothing has changed. It was a bit of a controversy whether to do the surgery this week or next. The longer we wait, the worse off the heart could get. The way they explained it to us is that it’s like when you’re lifting weights and your muscles start to get tired, you start having that burning feeling (those of you who lift weights know what I’m talking about, even though I’m certainly not one of you). When you get tired, you stop and give your muscles a break.

Now imagine that you can’t stop. Continue Reading »

Coming to a cardiac intensive care unit near you – 2/26/2012

First name: Baby
Middle name: Danger
Last name: Schultz

Here I am at 12 Weeks

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On Wednesday, September 28, 2011 Erica and I went in to Mass General Hospital for our 18 week ultrasound. We we’re excited to find out if we are having a boy or a girl. It’s a boy, and he has a special heart.

In this case, special = big challenge. A Critical Aortic Stenosis was detected at ultrasound, confirmed at echocardiography the next day by two pediatric cardiologists at MGH, and re-confirmed Monday October 3 at the Advanced Fetal Care Center at Children’s Hospital in Boston by the world’s leading pediatric cardiologist in this particular condition. Continue Reading »