生来就有罕见的心脏缺陷, sixth grader wants to solve the world's problems

萨克拉门托的在职父母米娅和乔迪·多明戈, 加州, 忙着照顾三个年幼的儿子, 而且他们还有第四个孩子. 顺利怀孕后, they welcomed Luke Domingo into the world on their 11th wedding anniversary.

在产房里，米娅把卢克抱在怀里. 她瞪大了眼睛，凝视着她的孩子.

他的皮肤是蓝色的.

“我们必须带走他,她的医生说, directing the medical team to rush Luke to the neonatal intensive care unit.

卢克在新生儿重症监护室接受检查的时候, 米娅和另一位新妈妈和她的孩子共用一间康复室. 每次室友的孩子哭，米娅的心都沉了下去. 她和乔迪紧张地等待着消息.

几小时后，医院工作人员将米娅转移到一个单独的房间. 不久之后，一位新医生来敲她的门. 儿科心脏病专家.

“你儿子有心脏病,他说, uncapping a marker and drawing a diagram on the room's dry-erase board. 《欧洲杯压球》."

米娅从未听说过这个词. 医生解释了这种罕见而复杂的先天性心脏缺陷. It meant Luke had a series of structural issues with his heart that changed how blood was flowing throughout his body.

People with the condition often have a hole between their lower heart chambers, which allows oxygen-rich blood to flow into the lungs instead of the rest of the body.

他们的主动脉也错位了, 右下心室较厚, 还有肺动脉瓣变窄, 久而久之会使心脏紧张吗. Luke was also born with a heart murmur and other conditions that would ultimately require surgery.

医生带多明戈一家去新生儿重症监护室看卢克. 他浑身都是电线. 他们必须保持安静，以防止他的心率加速.

直到卢克出生的第六天，米娅和乔迪才抱起他.

When they left the hospital a week later, they knew they'd soon be back. 卢克5个月大的时候需要做两次手术.

但首先，他需要变得更大更强壮.

At home, Luke's older brothers – Elijah, Kailan and Jeremie, then 10, 9 and 7 – doted over him. When surgery time arrived, Luke had met some milestones: He was rolling over and constantly babbling.

第一次手术将解决他的心脏问题.

The operation took five hours, longer than expected because of Luke's complicated anatomy. 他在医院住了一个星期休养. To comfort him, Mia and Geody taped pictures of Elijah, Kailan and Jeremie in his hospital crib.

在接下来的几年里, 卢克开始上学了, 和兄弟们交朋友，喜欢和他们一起玩耍, 尤其是遥控汽车.

He couldn't join a sports team because doctors worried a hit to his chest could disrupt his heartbeat, 可能导致心脏骤停.

Sometimes, he got frustrated watching his older brothers play football and basketball.

在学校, teachers – and Luke himself – explained to classmates why they couldn't tackle him during recess or throw a ball at his chest. Luke tired faster than other kids, and he had to take frequent breaks.

His second surgery – to address his pulmonary artery – was supposed to happen at age 7. 然而，那是在COVID-19大流行最严重的时候. 相反，卢克的心脏病专家对他进行了密切的监测. 当他9岁左右的时候，是时候了.

5个小时的手术减少了渗漏. 但它应该完全阻止它. Doctors decided to wait until he's in high school to address his remaining heart conditions.

Even if it wasn't a total success, the operation made a huge difference.

在接下来的几个月里, 卢克的鞋码一下子大了三码, 他还需要大两码的衣服. 玩的时候，他感觉不那么累了.

Now, Luke is a happy, curious 11-year-old intent on solving the world's problems.

“卢克是一个非常棒的孩子，”米娅说. “他真是个老家伙."

He has said he wants to be a scientist so he can "figure out how to cure stuff." But Luke is also thinking about how to solve world hunger and cure diseases, and he loves math.

“我可能看起来不像心脏不好，但我确实有，”卢克说. “我也有一个伤疤. 手术很可怕，但现在我没事了." Luke says to other kids with heart problems, "just don't be scared, and trust the process."

The Domingos hope Luke's third surgery three years from now will be his last. 但这就是医生对手术的看法不. 2.

“在这个时候，很多人都说‘我不知道’，”米娅说.

与此同时，卢克刚上六年级. 他期待着新老师的到来, 这是他小学的最后一年, 和朋友出去玩，认识新朋友.

发自内心的故事 chronicles the inspiring journeys of heart disease and stroke survivors, caregivers and advocates.