Remembering a Miracle

This article is from a 2007 Tulsa World publication. The young man referred to in the article is the son of a dear friend of mine. We are so grateful for the gifts our loving Heavenly Father gives us ... especially Michael!

Angels take the field
by KIM ARCHER World Staff Writer
Published: 4/22/2007 3:30 AM

Boy, 11 struck in the chest at ball game, then catches a few lucky breaks

Eleven-year-old Michael Slatcher is the epitome of true grit.
Throw in some luck and prayer, and doctors say that is why he is alive.
On a balmy evening Thursday at Indian Springs Sports Complex in Broken Arrow, Michael was playing catcher for his Hurricanes youth baseball team when he was accidentally struck in the chest with a bat.
It happened after a dropped third strike. After the blow to his chest protector, Michael scrambled, grabbed the ball, threw it to first base and then collapsed.
He immediately went into cardiac arrest.
Luckily, an off-duty paramedic and a physician happened to be at the park and began performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
"If no one had been there to do CPR on this child, I have no doubt he would have died or had an oxygen-deprivation injury to his brain," said Gail Neff-Gordon, who is a LIfeFlight paramedic.
Gordon's husband, Robert, was at the game watching his own 10-year-old son play ball at an adjoining field and was one of the first responders for Michael.
"It was just one of those rare occurrences. The bat hit him at the precise moment," he said.
Gordon and Dr. Athena Mason, whose son is a teammate of Michael's, were able to perform CPR until a Broken Arrow emergency services squad arrived, just 3 1/2 minutes after the call went out.
Maj. Phil Reid, who heads the EMS unit at the Broken Arrow Fire Department, said Michael's heart stopped and he was shocked back to life on the field.
"I'm so proud of my squad," Reid said. "They're the angels in blue."
Dr. Matthew Kimberling, a pediatric cardiologist (Claira's heart-doc too btw!) treating Michael at St. Francis Hospital, said such occurrences of "commotio cordis" are very rare.
"They may be underreported because most people die as a result of this," he said.
It happens when the chest is struck in precisely the right spot during a 15-millisecond window of opportunity, Kimberling said.
As a result, Michael's heart went into a potentially deadly arrhythmia called ventricular fibrillation, V-fib for short.
"I've practiced pediatric cardiology for 10 years, and this is only the second time I've heard of someone surviving it," Kimberling said. "He was very, very fortunate."
Amazingly, Michael isn't exected to have any long-term effects from the accident (except maybe orneriness!), the doctor said.
"He had a guardian angel watching after him," he said.
Without immediate CPR, the outcome might have been very different, imberling said. He believes that ball parks should have automatic defibrillators available for just such incidents.
"That made all the difference. The Broken Arrow Fire Department should be commended for their quick response," he said.
Michael is the oldest of six children, the youngest of whom is 1. At the time of the accident, his parents were on a vacation cruise.
"What a time for this to happen," said his grandmother Beverly Slatcher. "The first thing Michael asked was 'Who won the game?'."
The game was never completed.
As paramedics worked on Michael at the ball park, Mason said, parents and onlookers were holding hands praying for the child.
"I think that's what saved this little boy," she said.
According to the Institute for Preventative Sports Medicine, softball and baseball lead to more injuries requiring emergency room visits in the U.S. than any other sport.
And baseball leads all team sports in deaths of children between ages 5 and 14, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Michael was moved out of pediatric intensive care Saturday to a regular pediatric unit at St. Francis Hospital.
His grandmother said doctors predict he will go home any day.
"Hes tough. He's our miracke," Slatcher said. "There were nine people there to see to his needs. We feel very, very blessed."

2011 Heartwalk

T-shirt design ... original idea by Maddy, design by Uncle Sam & Chelsea :o)

Sweet Emma Routh

Last year we were honored to join in a celebration of a beautiful, short life ... Emma Routh. She was born on April 15, 2008 with a Congenital Heart Defect. She was only with her family for a few short months, but her legacy continues. Her parents threw Emma a birthday party at Bounce U, and held a blood drive in her memory. It was very moving.
We will again be able to join this family in remembering Emma by participating in her 2nd birthday celebration and blood drive. Thank you to Brian and Sonia (Emma's parents) for striving to give back in lieu of your loss. You are an inspiration to all families!

Snow!

Backwards snow angel ... Claira loves the snow!

Dancing Feet

Claira began taking dance lessons with her sister Evie last Fall. Her teacher says she has fun and does a great job ... but as you can see from the video, she forgets when Mom's around. Thank goodness "Parent's Night" is only twice a year!

Christmas Gift Exchange

The past few years we have had the kids draw names so that we're not buying a gift for all 6 to give to all 6! This year Chelsea shopped for Claira ... and found this GINORMOUS stuffed dog! It's more like a pillow because it's bigger than Claira. As you can see she absolutely loved it.

It's Pink!

Claira got her cast today ... and it's PINK! She is so much happier now. The doctor said it will be scary how much she tries to use her leg, but we still need to keep her from walking or putting weight on it. Before the cast, getting in and out of the car was a nightmare! Now she's no problem. Maddy came home from school and she held her leg up high and said "look at my leg!"

That's it!

Claira beans broke her leg today at church. She was busy as usual and fell! She will have a cast up to her hip for several weeks, and may not be able to walk throughout that time. Her Dad and I have decided she's filled her quota for her little life ... NO MORE!

Her big sister Maddy wanted to get her something to make her feel better, so while we were waiting on her happy pills she picked out a singing puppy for Claira. Nah ... she won't be spoiled ... will she?

3 Years!

Our little miracle girl is 3 years old ... a month ago!Busy Mom of 6 and in nursing school ... gimme a break! She's the boss of this house, and we LOVE her! She 's in preschool this year, and looks forward to seeing her teacher each week. When she got a boo-boo recently, she had to tell her teacher so she could kiss it for her! You wouldn't believe how stubborn she is.
The easel and paint set was a compromise ... she was found in the "big girls" room painting with acrylics on Chelsea's masterpiece. Ugh! After three times of taking the paint away and hiding it, I decided it was time she had a paint set of her own.
Happy Birthday Claira!

Squeeze those cheeks!

So ... I've been busier than I ever imagined I would be at this stage of my life. Surviving nursing school and 6 kids is about to eat my lunch!
This girl, however, is magical. I've been practicing ausculating (technical term for listening with my stethescope ... big words make me feel smart) on all my kids. Who knew having a big family would prove helpful in practicing physical assessments? I was in the process of mastering heart sounds, and was curious to listen to Claira's patchwork heart. I couldn't believe how NORMAL it sounded! What a blessing ...

Click on image to view larger

Craziness!

Just a word ... about the way it felt to enroll my baby in preschool for this fall! Wow ... life has sure changed ... but change is good!

2009 Heart Walk

Okay ... I'm 2 weeks late in posting this. Let's say life's been a little crazy lately!
We had a great time at the Heart Walk. One of my friends, and her daughter, walked with us ... as well as Annie & Mimi! The threat of a thunderstorm kept most people away. We had great success in selling t-shirts, thanks to Uncle Sam's creativity and especially your generosity! We'll donate $175 to the American Heart Association. Claira received her red survivor hat again (Evie thought she had to have one too) so everyone would know what she's overcome. Thank you again for all your support!
To see more Heart Walk pictures visit our family website ... Partyof8

Happy Heart Day Claira!

Two years ago Claira's 2 holes were repaired via open-heart surgery. She came away with a lack of desire to eat, and a long road ahead. Today she is a CHUNKY (emphasis on chunky),healthy, active, vibrant 2 year old that loves to eat! In lieu of her past struggles ... and this most blessed day ... I've posted a few pics of her 1st homemade pb&j sandwich! Her favorite saying is, of course, "NO! I'll do it mysowf!"

(Sorry the pics are such poor quality ... the camera on my new phone is terrible!)

Thank you to all that helped us support the AHA by purchasing shirts for the upcoming Tulsa Heart Walk ... we will be giving the organization a donation of $175.00. It's not much, but every little bit helps! It certainly helped advance medicine by researching new procedures and medicines to help little ones like our Claira!

Order a 2009 Tulsa Heart Walk shirt!

The first year we participated in the American Heart Association's Heart Walk, Uncle Sam designed the shirts we wore in Claira's honor ... it was only 2 weeks before her open-heart surgery. This year he has once again designed the shirt, and I think he's outdone himself! They're WAY CUTE! (I'll put picture up as soon as I can figure this out!)
You can order one of these adorable shirts AND support the American Heart Association's research and awareness for CHD.

• Pink short-sleeved tee with brown logo $12.00
  
• Pink baseball tee with brown sleeves and logo $15.00

Contact me by email eastmanpartyof7@yahoo.com
Saturday, April 18th ... wear your shirts and walk with us!

Prayers for Ethan

Ethan is one of Claira's heart buddies that could use your prayers right not. In a message from his Mom ... "We leave early this Thursday, March 26th, for Ethan's heart cath. It is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. In the heart cath, they will be plugging a fenestration hole that they put in the Fontan (tube that goes to the lungs) to allow more blood going to the lungs for oxygen. The tube was put in his last heart surgery, June 2008. Please pray for Ethan, Brian & I. Please pray for Dr. Sperrazza (the cardiologist performing the heart cath), nurses & anesthesiologist taking care of Ethan. Please pray that Ethan acclimates to more blood going to his lungs smoothly. Thank you so much for your prayers. We appreciate them so much."

You're NOT Excused!

Claira burped today! Why is that a big deal you ask? Well ... 1 week after her heart surgery, she had a feeding tube placed directly into her stomach so we could force food into her body. During the surgery she had a fundoplication, which means that her stomach was wrapped around her esophagus. The hope with this procedure was to keep Claira from vomitting her, so desperately needed, nutrition. The bad side is that she couldn't vomitt if she had a virus, and ... she couldn't burp! We were told it would start to loosen up in a few years, and that she'd be fully restored by the time she was an adult. The first few days after her procedure were miserable for her while we learned how to manually burp her, even though her tummy was very full of gas. After her mickey button was removed, there was no way to relieve the gas or "back-up" except to wait for her body to move it the other direction!
So ... now do you understand our excitement? She burped!

My heart's all better!

Claira, Tom and I visited Dr. Kimberling last week for her yearly visit. It was very different this time because she seemed to understand a lot more. During the Echo, she laid very still and was very sober. While she was looking at the picture of her heart, the tech said ... "look, that's your happy heart".
After the Echo, another tech performed the EKG ... and she was wonderful! She let Claira put some of the stickers on her chest, and she took that job very seriously. After, she was in charge of taking all the stickers off ... she loved that!
The end result is ... she's a miracle! The Dr. said the scarring in her aorta is improving as she grows. He doesn't see any more invasive procedures in her future. There is still a murmur due to the small leak next to the patch, but she'll always have that. We'll continue yearly visits until she's 5, then we'll see!
When we got home we talked about her little heart, and I told her it was all better ... she said "Yeah! My heart's all beddur!"

Join us April 18th!

It's almost time for the 2009 Heart Walk! This year will be our family's 3rd year to take part in this event to help spread awareness of CHD ... and to get a little exercise!
Uncle Sam will be designing the t-shirts once again this year, and will be sold at a minimal cost (with proceeds going directly to the AHA). If you would like to order one, let me know!
Last year, we were amazed by the show of support for our little friend Grant who survived heart surgery a few months after Claira in 2007. We cant wait to see Grant again this year ... and want to have an even BIGGER group of our own! Join us ... work out your hearts ... and wear your pink/brown t-shirts!
Click here to visit Team Claira's page.
Click here to learn more about the Heart Walk, and how they help children just like Claira!

In the News ...

This picture was featured in yesterday's Tulsa World, Satellite section. The American Heart Association held a Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) awareness event at a recent TU Tailgate Party. Abuelo's catered the food and provided a balloon artist (hence the ladybug balloon). This year's Sweethearts and Mavericks interviewed the families as part of an ongoing project. If you want to know more ... click here to read the full article.