Things You Never Know About Your Kids Until You Need To

My son was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinsons White Syndrome (WPW)3 years ago.  Have you ever heard of that?  I had not.  And luckily It was diagnosed because of another illness he had which took us to the emergency room in our home city.  After discovering this heart issue, we had appointments with a cardiologist, worked through stress tests and ECG's, but were told that the WPW seems to be inactive, though that could change as my son continued to grow and become more active.  Researched it a little on the internet, and were left feeling pretty confident that this was true.
My son is a stellar basketball player.  His dream is to play college ball in the US - to pay for school and so that he can continue a career in the sport he loves.  He plays a minimum of 3 hours a day on the court, not including work-out time with a trainer or practice time with his various teams.
In the spring of this year, while on the basketball court, he started to experience severe palpitations, some that would not stop for 3 hours. Scary!!  Especially since he was out of the country, with the team and I was back home.  We had no idea that this could start so quickly.
Smart kid - fouled out, got off the court, and settled down.  Took a while, but was fine.  He came home and we got him set up with his doctor immediately (or as quickly as that could be).  After a physical and ECG, he was told no sports until this is dealt with by a cardiologist.
Off to the websites to research what this meant, while the family doctor was booking with the cardiologist for us.  Wolff-Parkinsons White Syndrome can actully be cured.  The way to do it is to go into the heart and burn out the area that is causing the extra conduction. This is called a cardiac ablation.  This procedure is completed by a team of cardiac electrophysiologists.  Again - scary!!
After a stress test (in which my 17 year old lasted only 7 minutes) our cardiologist referred us to a specialist in WPW.  We had to wait 2 weeks for this visit and expressed our concern at the timing of the procedure.  Our specialist was kind enough to get us into the study lab as quickly as he could. In the meantime, lots of worry and wonder - someone was going to be inside my son's heart!
On our pre-op appointment, we met with a wonderful team who explained the procedure, answered all of my and my son's questions and showed us a video of how the procedure actually is executed.  We were told he could be in the study lab anywhere from 3 - 6 hours, then a minimum of 2 hours in recovery.  My son would need at least 2 - 3 days rest and then be good as new.  Imagine that?!
The day arrived (earlier this week).  My husband and I took my son to his appointment - we spoke little, each dealing with our own worries.The time came for my son to get prepped for the testing and procedure.  Off he went with a nurse - who quickly came back to get us so that we could wait with him until he went into the lab.  The comic relief my husband provided was beyond words.  We even have great pictures of my son walking himself, with his IV into the lab (which looked like a NASA setting).
Three hours and 45 minutes later, my son asked for me.  When I got to recovery, he was a little groggy but asked me if I was ok, and then told me the procedure was a success, the cardiac ablation worked!  He was so happy - we all were.  Nothing could take away the smile on his face, or the stress from my shoulders as seeing him healthy by watching the monitors on his heart looking normal.
Now it is 3 days later.  My son is rested, was out shooting baskets for the first time in 3 months (a little sore, but smiling), and we all feel like we have a fresh start on life.