News
PRC Approves Electric Co-op's Variance

Biomass Firm Claims Deal

A Forge-Fired Degree

School Year Starts With Buses Rolling Smoothly

'They Took My Life Savings'

Minors Work at DWI Memorial

Saddle Makes All the Difference

Moriarty Discusses New School

Trustee May Step in for Hibbs

Committee Tackles Canyon Traffic

More
News

HOME	CLASSIFIEDS	OBITUARIES	SPORTS	OPINION

Thursday, August 3, 2006

4-Year-Old Gets New Heart

By Matt Gomez
Mountain View Telegraph
    Gloria Schneller of Tijeras was making a cup of coffee in her temporary Denver apartment the morning of July 25 when a pager she had been given by The Children's Hospital started going off.
    The beeping pager meant that a new heart for her 4-year-old son, Jakob, could soon be ready, and she needed to get herself and three of her sons to the hospital quickly.

Click to enlarge

    "I had three kids I had to take to the hospital, so I didn't have the time to be scared," Gloria said in an interview Monday. "In the face of stressful things I'm pretty calm, so I just started gathering things."
    Gloria had moved to Denver with Jakob, 19-month-old son Alex and 7-year-old son Karl so Jakob could be placed on the list for a heart transplant at The Children's Hospital.
    Less than a week after Jakob was listed, a heart became available and the transplant was made.
    "The doctors were as surprised as we were," Gloria said.
    A one- to three-month wait is common for patients needing a new heart, she added.
    Jakob was admitted to the hospital at 9 a.m. The donor heart arrived at a nearby airport around 6:30 p.m. and by 7:11 p.m., Jakob's heart had been removed, Gloria said. The donor heart was transplanted just four minutes later, at 7:15 p.m.
    Other than some bleeding resulting from blood-thinning medication and a temporary bout of high blood pressure, everything went smoothly, she said.
    The next day Jakob was taken off a ventilator, and by Saturday he was out of the intensive care unit, Gloria said.
    "As far as (the doctors) are concerned, he's doing great," she said. "He's awake. He's off of all the IVs, the oxygen and all that other stuff, so he's doing great."
    Jakob was born with Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, in which an extra electrical pathway in his heart made the muscle beat extremely rapidly, at times spiking at about 300 beats a minute. The condition, unknown to Jakob's parents at the time of his birth, caused Jakob's heart to expand, collapsing both of his lungs when he was just a month old.
    A non-surgical procedure in January took care of the Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, but Jakob still suffered from cardiomyopathy, a disease that made his heart grow progressively weaker.
    It was thought that medications would help keep Jakob's heart functioning, but as the muscle continued to degenerate, a transplant became necessary.
    Gloria's husband, Chris Schneller, stayed behind in Tijeras so he could keep working at his job in Albuquerque. The couple's oldest son, Adam, also stayed behind.
    After it became clear that Jakob would be receiving a new heart, Chris drove to Denver with a friend.
    In addition to blood pressure medication on an as-needed basis, Jakob is given doses of immune system suppressants to help keep his body from rejecting his new heart, Gloria said. He'll have to take the immune system medications for the rest of his life.
    Gloria will need to stay in Denver with Jakob, Alex and Karl for at least another three months so doctors can insure Jakob's body doesn't reject his new heart, she said. If the body does eventually reject the heart, a new transplant would be needed and the waiting process would start over, Gloria said.
    Chris will probably return to Tijeras within the next week, Gloria said. Adam recently joined the family in Denver, where he will stay for a few days, she added.
    A family friend as well as Gloria's sister have, during different times, provided support in Denver for the family as Jakob underwent surgery and is now recovering. The extra support has allowed Gloria and Chris to alternate staying with Jakob as he recovers.
    Chris admitted that he is stubborn and reluctant to ask for financial help, but that various expenses not covered by health insurance have stretched the family's budget thin.
    An account at Sandia Laboratory Federal Credit Union, listed under Jakob Schneller, has been established by a friend of the Schneller family so people interested in helping can make donations, Gloria said.