THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 1, 1996 TAG: 9610010262
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARIE JOYCE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 110 lines
If Will Walton had gotten sick just six years ago, he might have died. If his problem had happened a year ago, he might have been stuck in a hospital for who knows how long, waiting for someone else to die and give him a heart.
Instead, Will, 16, spent Monday at Nauticus. The Cox High School 11th-grader, whose heart is failing, will live at home and enjoy a somewhat normal life while he awaits a compatible organ for transplant. He'll visit his friend's house to watch wrestling, attend youth group meetings at Bayside Baptist Church, and maybe, eventually, return to school.
The Virginia Beach teen is the first person in Hampton Roads to be discharged from the hospital wearing a newly improved pump that will aid his dying heart until a replacement comes along. Previous versions of the machine required patients to stay in the hospital.
The pump is sewn into his abdomen and attaches to his heart with two tubes. It's powered by a battery pack that he carries in a bag and that connects with the pump through a small cord protruding from his skin.
The Novacor PC doesn't simply keep Will alive. It improves his condition, making him a healthier transplant patient when the time comes. At a press conference Monday at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, he looked maybe a bit skinny and pale, but nothing hinted that he had been near death in August.
Will suffers from an enlarged heart. The heart no longer pumps properly. Doctors don't know why the condition struck him, but there may be a family connection. His mother, Claudia, has the same problem but has been able to control hers with medicine.
Will started to feel sick in July, when he was on his way to a church camp in South Carolina. He never made it to his cabin, going straight to the local emergency room. His buddy Brian Smelser made the other campers leave an empty bunk for him. His condition deteriorated quickly, and he eventually was flown to Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk.
Will's parents were shocked at how fast he went downhill. Claudia's own condition took longer to progress, but this problem works very fast in teens, said transplant surgeon Jeffrey Rich.
Sara Jacocks, Will's grandmother, and her husband were vacationing in Alaska and called to check in. She was shocked to learn that her healthy grandson suddenly needed a transplant. She cried through her breakfast, thinking about his blue eyes and big smile.
Doctors at Children's Hospital and Sentara Norfolk General soon decided he'd need the pump. The day before his Aug. 9 surgery, his condition worsened. He had high fever and a racing heart. They filled him with drugs to immobilize him and knock him out to minimize strain on his heart. At 3 a.m., pediatric cardiologist Daniel Schneider called Rich and told him they'd better start right away.
Will remembers nothing of the hours before surgery. Afterward, he remembers some pain, and a heavy feeling from the approximately 5-pound device, to which he quickly grew accustomed. Soon, he was walking, then exercising on a treadmill.
Besides Will, 10 patients have received a version of the pump. Two died before hearts became available, two are waiting, and the rest had successful transplants.
But none of them was discharged from the hospital with the pump. The first device had a control panel the size of a small filing cabinet. Later versions were lighter and more compact, and patients did so well that doctors explored the idea of sending them home.
Will and his mother have moved to an apartment near the hospital, where they'll stay for a transition period of a few weeks. Then he'll be home. For now, he'll do his schoolwork with a tutor at home.
Will was a good candidate for the first local attempt because he is young and hadn't been sick long enough to suffer a lot of other health problems. Equally important: He has smart, motivated parents who were willing to learn how to monitor the machine.
The black bag he carries contains several gray boxes about the size of thick paperback books. One is the computer that controls the device. The others are a main battery with a six-hour charge and a back-up battery. He's allowed to stay out for three hours at a time. If the re-chargeable battery starts losing power, it emits a loud alarm, said his father, Bill.
For as long as he's on the pump, he'll have a parent within earshot. When the family goes out, a parent carries a blue backpack with several extra batteries and an extra computer, just in case.
Hanging with your parents all the time can be a drag for even the most good-natured and grateful teen-ager, something his parents will try to keep in mind.
``Anyone who has had teen children knows privacy is a big thing for them,'' said his dad.
Will is not entirely comfortable with the glare of publicity - he let his mom and dad and his doctor answer most questions Monday.
And while the device may look inconspicuous, it gives off a constant, loud tock-tock noise. At least the black shoulder bag is small and weighs only about 4 pounds.
He can't play baseball or drive. He can still play video games at Brian's house. He has to avoid leafy, green vegetables - nutrients in them promote clotting, working against the blood thinners he takes. But Will's not a big spinach and salad fan, anyway.
And fame does have advantages. When he said he'd like to visit Nauticus, the waterfront museum enlisted volunteers to open up on Monday, a day the facility is normally closed.
Now, it's just settle in and wait, maybe for as long as a year. The device can go at least two years, Rich said.
Will shrugged off the time. ``I'm just waiting for a heart,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
Waiting for a new heart - outside hospital
MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN
The Virginian-Pilot
In his apartment near Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, Will Walton
rests while his sister, Angela, 19, feels movement of the heart pump
implanted beneath his skin. Will, 16, is in transitional housing
until doctors say he can go home to wait for a heart transplant.
PORTABLE HEART PUMP
VP GRAPHIC
[For a copy of the graphic, see microfilm for this date.] by CNB