She pulled up a diagram of a heart and pointed to the right and left atrium. "In a person with an atrial septal defect, or ASD, there's an opening in the wall, or septum, between the atria. As a result, some oxygenated blood from the left atrium flows through the hole in the septum into the right atrium, where it mixes with oxygen-poor blood and increases the total amount of blood that flows toward the lungs. With more blood flowing to the lungs, there is a swishing sound, or the hear murmur,"
I thought of all the junk food I ate. As much as I loved Costco pizza, I'd give it up to stay alive.
"Did... did I cause this?" I asked mortified.
"No, no, ASD is formed in the womb. We believe it's genetic, but nobody really knows,"
"So what do I have to do to get better?" I asked.
"I'm going to send you to a pediatric cardiologist and they'll do some tests to determine where the hole is, how big, et cetera. They can guide a tube into the heart to make measurements and then a special implant will be positioned into the hole. Eventually heart tissue will cover it and keep it in place. The other possibility is open heart surgery," she explained. I sat there and chewed my lip. This was too much for me to take in.
"I... I think I'll not do surgery. Um, yeah, no surgery, I can't do that," I said, rising slowly from my chair.
"I would like to speak to your parents one last time, so if you could send them in?" she asked, looking at a notepad. I nodded and gave a tight-lipped smile as I left the room.
"Your turn," I muttered to my parents and walked towards the bathroom.
"And just where are you going?" Mom asked.
"Bathroom," I said, struggling to keep my voice normal.
"Hon," Dad said, "just let her go," As soon as I rounded the corner I broke off into a run and sealed myself in the bathroom.
"No, no, no," I moaned. I turned the faucet on and let it run cold. After I splashed cold water on my face, I looked at my reflection. My black hair clung to my face and my brown eyes stared back at me, only, they were dull. It was like my energy and happiness were flowing out of this hole in my heart. I dried my face and regained my composure before leaving. I opened the door and came face to face with Mom.
"Let's go home, Mai," she said, calling me by her old nickname for me. She wrapped an arm around me and led me towards the elevator. I found this strange because we were almost always yelling at each other. Polar opposites. We weren't supposed to mesh like this. But our 'happy mother-daughter moment' didn't last too long. As soon as we were home she took one look at the newspaper and sent me to my room.
I thought of all the junk food I ate. As much as I loved Costco pizza, I'd give it up to stay alive.
"Did... did I cause this?" I asked mortified.
"No, no, ASD is formed in the womb. We believe it's genetic, but nobody really knows,"
"So what do I have to do to get better?" I asked.
"I'm going to send you to a pediatric cardiologist and they'll do some tests to determine where the hole is, how big, et cetera. They can guide a tube into the heart to make measurements and then a special implant will be positioned into the hole. Eventually heart tissue will cover it and keep it in place. The other possibility is open heart surgery," she explained. I sat there and chewed my lip. This was too much for me to take in.
"I... I think I'll not do surgery. Um, yeah, no surgery, I can't do that," I said, rising slowly from my chair.
"I would like to speak to your parents one last time, so if you could send them in?" she asked, looking at a notepad. I nodded and gave a tight-lipped smile as I left the room.
"Your turn," I muttered to my parents and walked towards the bathroom.
"And just where are you going?" Mom asked.
"Bathroom," I said, struggling to keep my voice normal.
"Hon," Dad said, "just let her go," As soon as I rounded the corner I broke off into a run and sealed myself in the bathroom.
"No, no, no," I moaned. I turned the faucet on and let it run cold. After I splashed cold water on my face, I looked at my reflection. My black hair clung to my face and my brown eyes stared back at me, only, they were dull. It was like my energy and happiness were flowing out of this hole in my heart. I dried my face and regained my composure before leaving. I opened the door and came face to face with Mom.
"Let's go home, Mai," she said, calling me by her old nickname for me. She wrapped an arm around me and led me towards the elevator. I found this strange because we were almost always yelling at each other. Polar opposites. We weren't supposed to mesh like this. But our 'happy mother-daughter moment' didn't last too long. As soon as we were home she took one look at the newspaper and sent me to my room.
