The University of Louisville Alumni Magazine: for alumni, faculty, staff, students and anyone that is a UofL Cardinal fan.
Issue link: https://louisville.epubxp.com/i/535203
1 2 | L O U I S V I L L E . E D U News & Impact due to a condition that causes enlargement of the pumping chambers of the heart. The condition often has no symptoms until things have progressed signif cantly. Lacey received medications in the inten- sive care unit, and Joshua Sparks, MD, a cardiologist with the UofL Department of Pediatrics, told her family she may ultimately need a heart transplant. A few days later Lacey's situation changed dra- matically when her heart stopped beating. Her doctors, including Deborah Kozik, DO, a UofL pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon, placed her on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, a form of life support, with the hope her heart would strengthen. After a week with poor results, they determined Lacey's only option was to have a ven- tricular assist device (VAD) implanted to support her failing heart and keep her alive until a suitable donor heart could be found. Just 10 days after going to school and playing with her two younger sisters, Lacey received the HeartWare HVAD on Jan. 30, with a specialized pump surgically inserted into her heart by Erle Austin, MD, a UofL pediatric cardiac surgeon, and Mark Slaughter, MD, chair of the UofL Depart- ment of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery and surgical director of the Kosair Children's Hospital heart transplant program. Connected to an external power source hidden in a sparkly pink backpack, it removes blood from the left side of her heart and pumps it to her body. Within a few weeks, Lacey moved freely around the hospital, leaving her room to ride a bike in the hallways, playfully bumping doctors and nurses and visiting friends she made. "At the time she had her surgery, she was very weak, very debilitated," said Slaughter. "The goal is to get them to survive to transplant. But she's really bounced back extremely well." Outcomes have improved for children with Lacey's condition with the introduction of VADs as a bridge to heart transplanta- tion, and Sparks, who also serves as medical director of the Kosair Children's Hospital heart failure and transplant programs, said Lacey's long-term prognosis is good. The device is allowing her to build up strength for when she receives her new heart. "She's a brave little girl. She wouldn't smile or anything, and now she's out riding a bike. She's happy — you wouldn't think that she's been through anything," her mother said. Lacey left the hospital on April 1 to go home and wait. She joins two other children in Kentucky waiting for a new heart, which typically takes three to six months. "This has been overwhelming for all of us ... a big whirlwind," her mother said. UofL pediatric specialists help create another Kentucky pioneer As 2015 began, Lacey Miller seemed a typical f rst-grader. She loved the movie "Frozen," Tinker Bell and playing with her dog and pet sheep. But just a few weeks later, the 7-year-old Trimble County girl made medical history as the f rst child to receive a ventricular assist device in Kentucky. Lacey's story began with what her parents thought was a virus. Because she did not feel well or breathe normally, her family took her to a pediatrician in her hometown of Benton, Kentucky. The doctor realized Lacey had something much more serious. He admitted her to a local hospital, where more testing determined she had an enlarged heart. Within hours, the "Just for Kids" Trans- port Team Mobile Intensive Care Unit sped her to Kosair Children's Hospital in Louisville, where she was admitted Jan. 21. "She was f ne, and then she wasn't," said Lacey's mother, Jessica Harmon. "It's amazing how fast everything happened." At Kosair Children's Hospital, doctors with University of Louis- ville Physicians told her family Lacey had congestive heart failure