Cardio Max and the Pacemakers

A few months ago, Tyler was approached by Regions Bank to lead a team in collecting donations and support for the American Heart Association's 2012 Nashville Heart Walk. He felt honored to be asked and he absolutely said "yes." We are so blessed to have such an amazing little boy named Max and he probably would not have survived if it had not been for the technology, research, and physicians that helped him when he was born. Because of this, we want to give back to the community and help raise awareness, funds, and support for the American Heart Association so they can continue to help others in need. So, at Regions' kickoff meeting for the event, Tyler was asked to tell Max's story. He did a great job and we immediately started gaining support for our team. If you would like to support our team, we would love for you to do so by walking with us on the 5K Heart Walk on Saturday, October 6th. Max will be there and we have named the team "Cardio Max and the Pacemakers." If you cannot make the event, you can also donate to our team if you would like to. Please see the story Tyler told below.


As you may know, our son Max was born with complete congenital heart block and had open chest surgery at 7 days old to have a pacemaker implanted. We are participating in the 2012 Nashville Heart Walk on 10/06/2012 and raising funds to support the American Heart Association and eradicate heart disease in our community. I think probably all of us have been affected by heart disease or a heart related issue to some capacity, whether it is a friend, family member, or yourself. Please support our fundraising efforts with a contribution! We would also love for you to join us at the walk....Max will be there.

Click this link to go directly to my personal fundraising page where you can give a secure online donation.

http://nashvilleheartwalk.
kintera.org/tylermuesch



Max's Story:
After 28 weeks of what seemed to be a perfectly normal pregnancy, we hit a roadblock. We went in for a routine ultrasound and discovered that Max's heart rate was in the 60's, when it should be in the 150's range. After an initial diagnosis of 2nd degree heart block with the potential to treat and reverse the damage through steroids, we were once again floored a week later with the news that Max was in complete heart block. This added a 30% mortality rate and all but guaranteed a pacemaker as our only option. Based on this news, the goal was to monitor Max with 2 ultrasounds per week and an echocardiogram every other week and try to make it to week 32 before he was delivered. He did great and blew past week 32, then week 34, then week 36 until we was delivered at roughly 38 weeks at 5 lbs, 9 ozs. The delivery went well and 7 days later, Max had a 45 minute surgery at Vandy to implant the smallest pacemaker in the world in his abdomen. Surgery went perfectly and we took the little guy home 24 hours later. 

Today, we continue to monitor Max through a machine at home every 3 months and take him to his cardiologist at Vandy every 6 months. He is a perfectly normal, healthy 1 year old today but he will continue to have surgeries to replace the battery and upgrade the pacemaker over time. We hope his next surgery will not be for at least another year or so. We are so thankful for the technology that's in place today that allows a 7 day old baby to even have a pacemaker and then to be able to monitor that pacemaker at home. Amy and I are both passionate about heart research as we are directly benefiting from the results of the research to date. 

Please support Max, Amy and I with a donation today and come join us on October 6 to walk in support of the American Heart Association's work to fund groundbreaking heart and stroke research. 

With the click of a mouse you can make a secure, tax-deductible online donation. You will not only be supporting me, you will be funding the fight against the No. 1 killer of Americans. The link below will take you to my personal donation page. If you prefer, you can also mail me a donation directly.

Follow This Link to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support American Heart Association - Nashville, TN


Thanks so much for your support!

Love,
Tyler, Amy, and Max