My Fifth Day
Friday, 29 August 1997

Patent Ductus Arteriosus

I was just getting over jaundice when and Mum and Dad were starting to relax when I through them for a loop. I came down with with a good case of patent ductus arteriosus.

Mum and Dad didn't do their homework beforehand and were caught a bit off guard by it. Mum called Dad at work and said something about a heart murmur. Well that threw Dad in a panic and he left work straight away and came to check me out. If Mum and Dad had read the little book they were given they would have realized that PDA is quite common in us young lads and can usually be cured by medication.

I'll try to explain it to you. Back in the old days when I was still camping out in Mum's tummy I didn't need my lungs. So this vessel would shunt the blood away from them. Normally, if I hadn't been so impatient and had waited until I was 40 weeks, that vessel would have closed by itself. But it doesn't always close on little guys like me and develops into a problem called PDA or patent ductus arteriosus.

This expert doctor who knows all about hearts came in and had a listen to my heart. He recommended some medicine.

To cut a long story short, I took the medicine and the next day no-one could hear the murmur any longer. They kept giving me the medication for two more days just to be sure.

So it was a bit of a hectic day but do you know what really helped me get through? The gentle touch of Mum and Dad ...