Have a grandson with a heart disorder

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Medical Video: Susan Lucci reveals heart problem that landed her in the ER

Your grandson has been diagnosed with a heart condition and you want to find out more. One in 133 children is born with a kind of heart disorder. Many conditions like this do not require treatment or can be repaired so that the heart works properly. Some need surgery immediately after birth or in the first few months after your granddaughter is born.

Due to medical advances over decades, the life expectancy of children with a heart condition is now more than 95% for children who have had open heart surgery. So if your grandchild needs open heart surgery to improve their heart condition, this can make you more calm.

If you want to know more about your grandchild's condition, find the right information. You can call an expert and get an explanation of the different conditions and treatment.

Problem family

Receiving a diagnosis of congenital heart disease results in drastic changes in emotions in the family. Grandparents often experience the same emotions, such as anger, sadness, and denial that affect parents in studying the diagnosis and can be difficult to accept the cause.

A common source of family tension is family members who try to advise parents about the best way to care for a child with a heart disorder. However, even if they mean well, this can make parents upset because their child may need special care, such as different eating patterns.

A grandmother said that she saw her granddaughter feeding her son bread with butter. He was surprised because he thought that the cream was bad for the heart and not suitable for baby butter. In fact, diet experts have suggested a high-calorie diet so that the baby's weight meets the standards before the next operation. The best way to avoid this kind of misunderstanding is to find out more about your grandchild's care plan, which was made by their nursing team.

This way you can give your child appropriate support throughout their journey in caring for a child. This is especially important if you directly help care for your grandchild. Ask your child to explain if they are in doubt, they might be happy to share information with you.

Support each other

Although there may still be differences of opinion or misunderstandings, many families are even closer than before. Grandparents often play an important role in supporting parents who have children with heart disorders.

Offer assistance

Anyone who wants to help must suit your child's needs. You might have ideas about what you can do to help but try to be as flexible as possible. If parents tell you that they don't need help now, let them know that they can always ask for your help the next day.

Grandparents help in various ways, for example: caring for children, cooking, helping with housework and offering assistance with scheduled visits to the clinic.

Some grandparents are very knowledgeable about the condition of their grandchildren and accompany parents to the heart doctor. This can be useful because there is often a lot of information and it is not enough if only parents listen.

The most important thing that grandparents can do to help is often listening. Many parents rely on their own parents because it can be a place to express problems and get support.

Support from a distance

If you live in a distant place, try to keep in touch with short calls or cards. Keeping children with heart disorders can also mean adding to the financial burden so that any offer of financial assistance that you can get can also help a lot.

Other grandchildren

Children with heart problems often think that they are ignored by anxious relatives about a child with a heart disorder. Parents may also have difficulty diverting attention to a sick child. Grandparents can help by giving other children time and attention.

They may also be able to take care of sick children so parents can spend time alone with other children.

Have a grandson with a heart disorder
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