Heart of Hurricane

Heart of Hurricane

Mary “Hurricane” Lorraine Metcalf

As most of you know, our Mary Lorraine, AKA “Hurricane Lorraine,” is a force to be reckoned with. She has a light and an energy that lights up a room and radiates joy -- no matter what she is doing. She loves the Lord, her family, her friends, her school, and volleyball. Many of you also know she has had her share of challenges her entire life; however, some do not. One would never know about her challenges and struggles by meeting her bubbly, social self. But don’t we all have hardships? Unfortunately, the answer is YES - we do!

A few weeks ago, we were advised that she should have another cardiac ablation to cure, alleviate, and hopefully get this extra energy in her heart reigned in for good. So we are “cautiously optimistic."

Mary Lorraine (ML) was born with challenges. As some of you know, she was born with a congenital cleft palate. She had a tiny hole in the roof of her mouth. So... that little hole set in place a myriad of other problems for our girl: hearing problems, speech problems, feeding issues. These are just some of the difficulties she had during her first few years of life. She had her first surgery at 11 months to repair the cleft and have her first set of tubes placed in her ears. Over the years, she had many more ear procedures. “Ears.” Sounds minor, right? No pun intended. Any parent who has ever had a child with medical issues knows that even though it may seem “minor,” when someone takes your baby from your arms to have them placed under anesthesia for what is minutes, it can seem like hours.

In February of 2018, her (and our) life was changed forever. She came into my room. (I remember because it was snowing; I was home from work, and the kids were out of school). She said, “Mommy, my chest feels funny." She wasn’t kidding. As I placed my three fingers on her chest, it felt like a drum roll had taken up residence. Needless to say, I was scared to death. We would swiftly be referred to Pediatric Cardiology, as she was seen there in infancy for a murmur that corrected itself, as they often do. On this first visit, she was placed on a 30-day “event monitor.” On day 27 of the 30, I got a call from the monitoring company to ask if she was alright. I said, “yes, is there an issue?” The operator on the line said she had experienced a significant event, and we should be hearing from her doctor that night around 9. I did speak to the MD. He said her heart was recorded at 240 beats per minute, and we needed to be at the cardiologist's office the following day. So… We were. Her event monitor revealed a condition.

Mary Lorraine’s heart condition is called Supraventricular Tachycardia, with Wolff Parkinson White Syndrome. Essentially, she has too many electrical outlets (pathways) in the AV Node of her heart. She was started on a beta-blocker and scheduled for her first cardiac ablation and EP study in May. The day after Mother’s Day in 2018, we headed down to Charleston, SC, to MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital for her procedure. For most pediatric patients, one procedure fixes the problem. She did well until around October of that year. Then, she started going back into SVT. So, we tried the beta-blocker again. Beta-blockers, in general, have the side effect of fatigue. For ML, her exhaustion was extreme. The fatigue was completely opposite of my very active little Hurricane. Previously she was always moving, most of the time swiftly, unless she was asleep.

She was scheduled for a second procedure in June 2019. I reiterate, two procedures typically cure the small percentage of patients that one procedure does not fix. Fast forward to Spring of 2020. Not the brightest point for anyone in this world. SVT sets in again for ML. As before, a beta-blocker is prescribed to reign in the excessive electricity produced by her heart. With each ablation, more pathways were uncovered, and with each procedure, the pathways were burned. However, to me, her mama, it seems like a game of Whack-A-Mole. One is knocked out, and others pop up.

On November 17, 2020, she had her 3rd, and what we had hoped would be her final, cardiac ablation. As her surgeons would say, “we are cautiously optimistic." This is a phrase we have become too accustomed to. Only two weeks after that ablation, we found ourselves sitting in the ER of The Children’s Hospital at Prisma in Greenville, SC. Mary Lorraine would undergo cardioversion with medication to get her heart rate back to a normal rhythm. We spent six days in pediatric ICU having a new medication titrated. She was constantly monitored to see what her ideal dose would be. At the end of December 2020, our family, along with millions of other families in this world, were diagnosed with Covid-19. We all thankfully recovered. Mary Lorraine, however, would need additional testing to ensure no permanent damage was done to her heart from the Covid infection. Thankfully, her heart was structurally normal. The new medication seemed to work -- beautifully!!!! We had a great check-up in the summer of 2021, and we were good. She was good. She was tired, but she was ok… until November 29, 2021.

Another visit to the ER for a heart rate of 171 that wouldn’t go down. But then it did - after monitoring in ER. Finally, she converted into normal rhythm on her own. We came home that same night. I called her doctor the next day, and her medication was increased. Unfortunately, she still had breakthrough SVT, and we found ourselves back in the ER and in pediatric ICU on January 24, 2022. We are waiting for a “go day” for what we hope will be her last cardiac procedure. She is a candidate for a “new mapping system” at MUSC. Our girl will be 15 on April 11, 2022. She has had more than her share to deal with physically in her short life than many people do their entire time on this earth. She has had 1-2 surgical procedures every year of her life. We, as a family, have never even considered proposing a fund for her. We are fortunate to have health insurance. We are thankful. We are blessed. However, even with insurance comes deductibles, out of pockets, etc. It is costly, to say the least. But we will do whatever we have to.

As I walked up the hall of the pediatric ICU in Greenville during our most recent visit, I was reminded of how fortunate we are. We know it could be so much worse. It absolutely could be. We hope this is the last time she has to have a heart procedure. We humbly ask for your prayers to cover the physicians caring for ML and direct them with Gods’ hand. We know He is the great physician, and nothing is impossible with Him. We ask for prayers for Mary Lorraine. She has a lot on her plate as a 14-year-old girl. We ask for prayers for us: her family, her sister and BFF Libby, her dad Shane and me. Her precious heart affects the hearts that love her most. In this American Heart Month of February, we are “cautiously optimistic.”

Funds raised will be used for deductibles, out of pocket costs, such as transportation, overnight stays and needs for Mary Lorraine. In addition, any excess funds will be donated to the Children’s Heart Association and MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital to assist other families in need.