Life in risk group

Audrey Claire Koch is our precious, smiling daughter, and we are amazingly blessed to have her alive with us today! This is her story – up until today, when she is 19 months old, living and thriving with Long QT Syndrome! In April of 2010, we were excitedly 20 months pregnant, with our third child. At 39 years old, I was used to the doctor appointment schedule including the routine Perinatal visit, in addition to all the regular OB appointments. At the 20 week Perinatal appointment, our lives would change forever, unexpectedly. During the exam our doctor, Dr. Gomez, detected an abnormally low ventricular fetal heart rate, around 70bpm – this was called 2:1 Atrioventricular Heart Block. He was calm, but I could tell alarmed, and I was sent immediately for bloodwork, and then following to Sibley Heart Center Pediatric Cardiology for assessment. At the Pediatric Cardiologist, after an extensive fetal echocardiogram, I was told that there was a possibility that I could have maternal onset of Lupus, that had caused this Heartblock issue, or maybe a virus or a structural issue with the baby’s heart. Either way, the baby was at risk, and I would need to be monitored weekly, for the remainder of the pregnancy, and until they decided to deliver the baby. I was put on steroids through the weekend, until my bloodwork returned 4 days later.