BOSTON ? By the time Lauryn Tisdale was 4, she?d undergone seven open-heart surgeries, the product of being born with hypo plastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a genetic defect in which the left side of her heart did not form correctly.
Doctors essentially bypassed the damaged side, and were hopeful young Lauryn would not have to undergo any additional open-heart procedures.
But not everything goes according to plan.
Lauryn, now 9 1/2, has been at Boston Children?s Hospital the past few weeks for testing and preparation for what will be her eighth heart surgery next Friday.
There, doctors will perform a biventricular repair. That is, she will undergo a lengthy procedure in which doctors undo much of what they?ve done previously in an attempt to reroute blood back through the left side of her heart in order to test the blood flow.
?We know the valve on the left side does appear to function,? Amber Tisdale, Lauryn?s mother, told the Register in a telephone interview. ?We just don?t know much blood will flow through it, and we won?t know until the procedure to see if it?s sufficient.
?What we do know is the heart is a muscle,? Amber continued, ?and it can grow.?
But with all of the unanswered questions, one thing is certain. ?It?s going to be an extensive surgery,? Amber said.
Perhaps more importantly, Lauryn, who will enter fourth grade next year, is fully aware of what?s about to happen.
?She doesn?t really remember the first surgeries,? Amber said. ?We?ve obviously talked about it, and she?s had hospital stays before. But she?s got quite a bit of anxiety building up to this one, and a lot of questions surrounding it.
?As Mom and Dad, you address those fears and concerns with her, but we didn?t anticipate all of the questions she was going to have for us,? Amber said.
Lauryn in recent days has been on ?an emotional roller-coaster,? her mother admitted.
?I may say something like ?Baby, put your shoes away,? and she?ll start crying.
?It?s a tense time for everybody,.?
