Two-and-a-half-year-old Prince George resident Ethan Reimer is out of heart surgery and recovering Saturday in the ICU at BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver.
Mom Megan said it’s been a bit rough because his pain level is high but little Ethan is surrounded by family and has his trusty stuffie, Deer, beside him who has helped him get through many medical procedures.
Ethan had his first heart surgery when he was just six weeks old.
Ethan was born with a variation of Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, a condition which will affect him for the rest of his life.
Ethan’s left ventricle is under-developed, which led to a bunch of other issues, including a narrowing of an aorta causing an obstruction. A balloon was put in his aorta to try to fix it but that didn’t work and so the latest heart surgery was done to remove the damaged section. Earlier in his life, Ethan's valve was patched with a piece of donation heart, and a stent went in and then it went out and the list goes on.
“He still has one more surgery in his treatment plan,” Megan said. “And he will need that in about a year’s time.”
Ethan’s little heart can’t take the pressure of having two blood supply lines going into his heart right now like most people do but as he grows older and his heart gets bigger and he gets stronger, that will change, Megan explained.
But the decrease in pressure results in a decrease in oxygen levels – Ethan’s is at about 80 per cent and it doesn’t look like that will ever change – and that comes with some restrictions in his life. Ethan can’t play as hard or go as long as other kids’ his age so things will continue to be a bit slower for him and that’s ok, said Megan.
As Megan listed all the procedures (at least nine) he has gone through during his short life, including three major heart surgeries, the mind is boggled about how tough this little guy really is.
“Ethan is super outgoing and loves to talk to people, he loves meeting new people and he’s such a character and everybody comments on his awesome curly hair and he loves his brother and loves his family and he just wants to play and be a kid,” Megan said about her beloved son. “His favourite toy in the world is his Deer that he’s had since he was a year old and Deer is the one toy he’s stuck to through all of this.”
Recently family friend Natalie created a for the family to offset the financial burden of traveling and living in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»for the Prince George family while Ethan waited for the surgery, had the surgery and will now recover from the surgery, which is expected to take about six weeks.
“We are very blessed and we are so thankful for all the support we have gotten and I just wanted to give a very big thanks because we don’t have to worry because now Ethan can get everything he needs to support his recovery,” Mom Megan said. "We really didn’t expect to surpass the gofundme goal and receive so many donations. I would like everyone to know that this will help us in the future for upcoming trips, procedures and the next surgery. We are beyond grateful."
