CELEBRATING SAM

The parents of one child celebrated something that parents hope they'd never have to deal with. 

Matt and Nicole Feliksa held a party at the Butcher's Nook in Plains last Saturday afternoon as a belated April 4 birthday bash for 15-year-old Sam and to celebrate the success of his recent heart operation that now enables him to lead the more normal life of a growing teen. 

"I'm going to do as many sports as I can, maybe even martial arts," said Sam during his party, where nearly 50 friends and family gathered to join in the festivities. He said he's looking forward to being part of next year's basketball season with the Plains High School Horsemen. However, in his first competition at the party - the game of Twister - he was the second one out. 

Dr. Joshua Sticka of the Western Montana Clinic gave Sam the green light to play basketball in the fall. He hasn't been allowed to play competitive sports due to the risk of collisions for the past five years, but his older brother, Nathan, recently has been teaching him the game. Nicole said that she was pleased when the cardiologist gave Sam approval for competitive sports. Yoga and golf had been the only two allowed sports, she said. Presently, he is encouraged to gradually return to normal activity. "We still don't want him to ride in the front seat of the car because of the airbag. He doesn't like that, but that's just temporary," said Matt.

Sam spent 11 days at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to undergo an intricate heart operation called an Ozaki aortic valve reconstruction procedure. "Sam had a bicuspid aortic valve that caused both obstruction and regurgitation. This is a problem because it caused aortic stenosis, as well as ventricular enlargement, both issues in themselves," said Nicole, who kept a journal during his entire time at the hospital. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is one of the few facilities that are capable of doing such an operation.

The parents didn't know their son had a heart deficiency until he was 10 years old at Hot Springs Family Medicine when he went in for a chest cold. Nicole said that was the beginning of a lot of tests, but doctors wanted Sam to grow so his heart would be more adult size prior to surgery. Matt said that the procedure has only recently been done on children, although it's been done on adults for about 10 years.

"Waiting during the surgery was stressful, but the prayers and support of our friends, family and hospital staff really lifted our spirits," said Matt, who added that being able to blog about the progress and reading people's comments was encouraging. Sam's surgery took place on Feb. 16. "The final result was near perfection," said Matt, owner of Golden Sun Manufacturing, a custom jewelry design company in Plains. Sam was under continuous supervision by a team of nurses and specialists. Nicole said they went 12 hours with a constant vigilance on Sam, who was discharged five days after his surgery. 

One of the first things he did when released was to climb the 72 steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which was made famous by the movie "Rocky" when Sylvester Stallone ran up the stairs. Sam said he wasn't allowed to run up the steps, but it took him only about a minute and he beat his mother to the top, where he had his photo taken with the Rocky statue. "I let him walk up a few steps intending to take a picture, and he just kept going," said Nicole. "I am a physical therapist and my instincts tell me to walk with the patient and stay close when they climb stairs. I didn't expect him to climb to the very top. So I put my camera down and raced up to the top to be with him. He wasn't even out of breath."

Sam has very few restrictions since he passed the six weeks of sternal precautions. "He just has to pay attention to how he feels endurance wise. It was hard going back to school," said Nicole. She said it was overwhelming, but he passed the third quarter and is going to school two days a week. "His heart is still remodeling, which means the ventricular is changing shape, shrinking back to normal," she said.

Another positive aspect of Sam's six-hour surgery is that the replacement parts were not artificial. Doctors crafted new leaflets from his own tissue, which Matt said eliminates the need for the drug Coumadin, an anticoagulant used for mechanical valves. In addition, mechanical parts don't grow and need to be periodically replaced, which would have meant more surgery. "Because the valve is made from Sam's own tissue and not a mechanical valve, there are really no big concerns about blood clots in the long run," said Nicole in the journal.

Matt said that it will take a couple of years before doctors know that the procedure was totally successful. "Doctors don't know with 100% certainty how long the pericardium leaflets will hold up and perform well," said Matt. "However they're very confident based on the data they have to date that Sam and others like him may never need a revision."

"It was really tough not being able to do things before the surgery, but that's all changed now. It was definitely worth it," said Sam, who seemed to have a continuous smile during the party. He spent a lot of time showing friends the collage of photographs his mother put together. Sam said he is ready to start a new life of normalcy and feels fine. "I notice that I have a lot more energy now and I'm more positive and I don't get tired fast," said Sam.

The Feliksas relied on their Christian faith to help them get through the ordeal. "Knowing that God is in control no matter the outcome is critical to your soul and peace of mind. It's not fun going through scary, uncertain times, but fear is the enemy of our soul," he said. "I thank God every day that we have a wonderful success to celebrate and that we have a healthy son, but I still haven't really relaxed," said Nicole. "We are all back to work and school. Everything is going well. I think it may take the summer where we can enjoy some normalcy. I suppose a mother never really stops worrying."