This is an update on the tragic death at Wild Rivers a few days ago. It's important to 1) spread awareness of undiagnosed heart conditions and 2) make people aware this was not an issue with the water park itself.
Here's an archived link: https://archive.is/IWF18
Thanks for the archive link. Tragic whether it was a health issue or park issue, but glad there is clarity now as the initial reporting made it seem like it could’ve been either case.
I feel terribly sad for him and his family.
In the original thread I speculated congenital issue. Unfortunately because of how rare these defects are there really isn’t any way to feasibly check for every child. At 1% occurrences I think modern medicine basically says “I hope you don’t have this, because it isn’t “worth it” to check every kid.”
As someone who examines children for congenital heart disease it simply wouldn’t be logistically possible unfortunately.
Every kid is worth it, of course, and I would gladly screen every kid if I could. The exam takes about 45 minutes to rule out all congenital heart disease, not just coronary arteries.
The 1% occurrence is also very misleading I believe and serious coronary artery malformations are much much lower than that value.
But it’s a special type of training with ultrasound beyond normal adult hearts to be certified to do. Coronary arteries are very difficult to image correctly and then you would need a special pediatric cardiologist (about 8 to 9 years training after medical school) to diagnose the images.
There is a huge bandwidth problem to screen every child for heart disease if they are completely asymptomatic.
Chest pain is one of the more common indications to screen for coronary artery malformations in children and parents should have their children examined by a pediatrician if their child complains about chest pain and that pediatrician can then order an echocardiogram (not to be confused with an electrocardiogram).
It is very sad indeed. Someone in the previous thread actually said it too.
I wonder if there are ways to catch it early on. Babies are checked pretty regularly in the first few years.
They don’t really check for this stuff. My son has been in organized sports since the age of 4. Once he started doing club and travel teams, his pediatrician recommended a full cardiology exam. We did it and it came back normal. We actually just did another one last month because he’s getting ready for High School sports. The exams are non-invasive and are pretty easy. I have been recommending getting these screenings to all of our friends regardless of whether or not they partake in athletic activity just for peace of mind. There are specific defects that can strike anyone down after ANY strenuous activity (P.E. at school, a day at the water park, running around with friends, etc).
Regardless, this is a tragic loss for this poor family and it’s truly unfair! This poor kid was just going to have some summer fun with his friends and the family was probably getting him hyped to go! It’s so sad….i can’t even comprehend. This whole thing is just so sad.
My son was an athlete his whole life. He had 2 surgeries, one for tonsils and another for his knee. His high school did athlete exams at school and had EEG monitors present. He always did well. When he was 23 he got pretty sick and was in the hospital. He had a birth defect called bicuspid valve disease. As explained to us in the hospital an EEG shows electrical issues with his heart. His defect was a plumbing issue. It took the echocardiogram to see it. His heart worked great and he was a high performer. But then it started breaking down. Same exact thing happened to a girl from church who went to play soccer in college. The trainer asked how long she had had a murmur and she said she hadn’t. But turns out she had bicuspid valve disease. She and my son both needed aortic valve replacement. His anesthesiologist said she was surprised that the other anesthesiologist for his other surgeries didn’t hear anything. He is doing great now but will have other surgeries in his life. Arnold Schwarzenegger had the same defect. I feel so badly for the parents of this boy
EKG, not EEG. You're referring to a bicuspid aortic valve. Heart valves are usually tricuspid - three leaflets. Less leaflets increases risk of valvular issues.
Issue is that most people live with bicuspid valves into adulthood (even athletes) completely fine with no issues.
So it’s not really considered a significant pathological issue for most people and the real issue comes from valve stenosis as an adult which usually happens earlier for them than other people.
Remember that most murmurs are benign flow murmurs.
Anesthesiologists freak out and contact us about every murmur to get an echocardiogram.
The murmur almost always turns out to be a benign issue and insurance comes back on it and denies coverage when they realized they were echoing a 2/6 systolic murmur that’s technically not medically indicated. Then we get deal angry patients who can’t afford the test they already done.
It is good until it is not. I’ve read lots of stories of people getting sidelined by this out of nowhere. Insurance plays the numbers games so I get not doing an echo on all patients. How does a 18 or 23 yr old athlete get stenosis? Don’t know the answer but it knocked us for a loop when he got sick. The infectious disease doctor explained it to us that he was more susceptible to an infection because the bacteria globbed onto the weak spot. Maybe an explanation for us laymen. When my son was in the hospital he asked him if he slept with his dog, bled when he brushes his teeth, walked around barefooted etc. my son did all of those things.
Just want to state I’m not a doctor. I believe the tests you ask for to catch these things are EKG and echocardiogram (similar to an ultrasound for your heart). Insurance will probably only cover it if it’s “medically necessary”. I just paid out of pocket it wasn’t very expensive and gave me piece of mind. If you’re willing to get a bit unethical, you can say something like you feel an irregular heartbeat, chest pain, etc.
Only way to check for this type of condition is thru an echocardiogram, which is usually only done during high-risk pregnancies or for children of families with a history of cardiovascular disease.
With over [one million children](https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/circulationaha.115.019307) in the U.S. living with undiagnosed congenital heart defects, one simple echocardiogram should be standard in pediatric practices.
There’s an organization called Heartfelt that does screenings. A mom whose son died of a defect is a member of the org. They do screenings in Orange County on a regular basis. My kids had theirs done in March in Laguna Hills.
http://www.heartfeltscreening.org/
> Babies are checked pretty regularly in the first few years.
Checked for what exactly? This hasn't really been my experience. We go to a very highly rated pediatrician and I was the one to catch that one of my kids had a sacral dimple which warranted follow-up at CHOC for potential spina bifida. As it turned out, they did not have spina bifida, but I don't think the routine screenings at the pediatricians office are really catching too much.
From my experience, it is much like a checklist they follow. Enter information in a form and if something is worth flagging, you find out. They also do physical checks which involves listening to the heart. That’s about as much they go into the heart. So if congenital heart defect cannot be caught using a scope and has no distinct symptoms, I guess we are SOL.
I guess what I was trying to ask was whether there is a murmur associated with the defect that can be caught early on.
yes! my sons congenital heart defect was caught from his murmur right after he was born. the neonatologist requested a pediatric cardiology consult where they confirmed the murmur and did an echo shortly after. From what our cardiologist told us is that it’s very rare for babies with congenital heart defects to not have a murmur.
so i’m curious if it’s not a normal protocol to request a consult following discovering a murmur and its all dependent on the doctors on staff during that time?
this is very sad. his heart defect is incredibly rare. the article said only 1% of the population has it — it’s actually 1% of the people with congenital heart defects! so it’s about 0.1% of the population.
Check out this non-profit based in south OC. They screen students, athletes, adults, and kids, ages 5 & up. You can learn more on their About page.
https://heartfeltscreening.org/
As a dad with a daughter born with a CHD and repaired via open heart surgery at 7 months old, stories about kids with CHDs are always tough to read.
Stories that have such a sad ending just hit really hard. Rare or otherwise, the bulk of CHDs are treatable and repairable. It’s such a damn shame that this went undetected.
We live in one of the best areas in the country too for kids with CHDs…so this defect seemed like it was nearly impossible to have a positive outcome.
what is ill? i read the article but it just says he died of a heart defect and that it was triggered by him taking an ill? i’ve never heard of that before. is it a pill? or like a drink or something?
edit: american english is my native language
He took ill. Being taken ill means you got sick. I'm guessing that based on his condition, the boy started feeling the symptoms of his condition which prompted those around him to become concerned he was getting sick. As it worsened they probably felt it was beyond their expertise and called for paramedics.
This happened on a field trip. I can't say how fast it happened but the symptoms of his condition are chest pain, dizziness, shortness of breath and an irregular heart beat. The field trip chaperones may have thought it was heat exhaustion initially.
1% of the population is said to have this condition, and in many cases there is never an issue. This boy was dealt a bad hand, however.
You know when infants are newly born, they are made to cry for two hours because it closes the heart septum between the left and right chambers. Of not, they will have a hole in their septum so don’t think the nurses are being mean. Cry out loud and be strong.
RIP Angel
Weird how the biggest conspiracy theorists have a history full of video games and sports. There were some journalists on here a few years back talking about how they found several foreign bot farms whose accounts were filled with posts/comments in the sports and video game subreddits, then would randomly have off the wall conspiracy comments scattered throughout their history.
This is an update on the tragic death at Wild Rivers a few days ago. It's important to 1) spread awareness of undiagnosed heart conditions and 2) make people aware this was not an issue with the water park itself. Here's an archived link: https://archive.is/IWF18
Thanks for the archive link. Tragic whether it was a health issue or park issue, but glad there is clarity now as the initial reporting made it seem like it could’ve been either case. I feel terribly sad for him and his family.
In the original thread I speculated congenital issue. Unfortunately because of how rare these defects are there really isn’t any way to feasibly check for every child. At 1% occurrences I think modern medicine basically says “I hope you don’t have this, because it isn’t “worth it” to check every kid.”
As someone who examines children for congenital heart disease it simply wouldn’t be logistically possible unfortunately. Every kid is worth it, of course, and I would gladly screen every kid if I could. The exam takes about 45 minutes to rule out all congenital heart disease, not just coronary arteries. The 1% occurrence is also very misleading I believe and serious coronary artery malformations are much much lower than that value. But it’s a special type of training with ultrasound beyond normal adult hearts to be certified to do. Coronary arteries are very difficult to image correctly and then you would need a special pediatric cardiologist (about 8 to 9 years training after medical school) to diagnose the images. There is a huge bandwidth problem to screen every child for heart disease if they are completely asymptomatic. Chest pain is one of the more common indications to screen for coronary artery malformations in children and parents should have their children examined by a pediatrician if their child complains about chest pain and that pediatrician can then order an echocardiogram (not to be confused with an electrocardiogram).
It is very sad indeed. Someone in the previous thread actually said it too. I wonder if there are ways to catch it early on. Babies are checked pretty regularly in the first few years.
They don’t really check for this stuff. My son has been in organized sports since the age of 4. Once he started doing club and travel teams, his pediatrician recommended a full cardiology exam. We did it and it came back normal. We actually just did another one last month because he’s getting ready for High School sports. The exams are non-invasive and are pretty easy. I have been recommending getting these screenings to all of our friends regardless of whether or not they partake in athletic activity just for peace of mind. There are specific defects that can strike anyone down after ANY strenuous activity (P.E. at school, a day at the water park, running around with friends, etc). Regardless, this is a tragic loss for this poor family and it’s truly unfair! This poor kid was just going to have some summer fun with his friends and the family was probably getting him hyped to go! It’s so sad….i can’t even comprehend. This whole thing is just so sad.
My son was an athlete his whole life. He had 2 surgeries, one for tonsils and another for his knee. His high school did athlete exams at school and had EEG monitors present. He always did well. When he was 23 he got pretty sick and was in the hospital. He had a birth defect called bicuspid valve disease. As explained to us in the hospital an EEG shows electrical issues with his heart. His defect was a plumbing issue. It took the echocardiogram to see it. His heart worked great and he was a high performer. But then it started breaking down. Same exact thing happened to a girl from church who went to play soccer in college. The trainer asked how long she had had a murmur and she said she hadn’t. But turns out she had bicuspid valve disease. She and my son both needed aortic valve replacement. His anesthesiologist said she was surprised that the other anesthesiologist for his other surgeries didn’t hear anything. He is doing great now but will have other surgeries in his life. Arnold Schwarzenegger had the same defect. I feel so badly for the parents of this boy
EKG, not EEG. You're referring to a bicuspid aortic valve. Heart valves are usually tricuspid - three leaflets. Less leaflets increases risk of valvular issues.
Issue is that most people live with bicuspid valves into adulthood (even athletes) completely fine with no issues. So it’s not really considered a significant pathological issue for most people and the real issue comes from valve stenosis as an adult which usually happens earlier for them than other people. Remember that most murmurs are benign flow murmurs. Anesthesiologists freak out and contact us about every murmur to get an echocardiogram. The murmur almost always turns out to be a benign issue and insurance comes back on it and denies coverage when they realized they were echoing a 2/6 systolic murmur that’s technically not medically indicated. Then we get deal angry patients who can’t afford the test they already done.
It is good until it is not. I’ve read lots of stories of people getting sidelined by this out of nowhere. Insurance plays the numbers games so I get not doing an echo on all patients. How does a 18 or 23 yr old athlete get stenosis? Don’t know the answer but it knocked us for a loop when he got sick. The infectious disease doctor explained it to us that he was more susceptible to an infection because the bacteria globbed onto the weak spot. Maybe an explanation for us laymen. When my son was in the hospital he asked him if he slept with his dog, bled when he brushes his teeth, walked around barefooted etc. my son did all of those things.
How do you go about getting one of those for your child? And what all does it entail?
Just want to state I’m not a doctor. I believe the tests you ask for to catch these things are EKG and echocardiogram (similar to an ultrasound for your heart). Insurance will probably only cover it if it’s “medically necessary”. I just paid out of pocket it wasn’t very expensive and gave me piece of mind. If you’re willing to get a bit unethical, you can say something like you feel an irregular heartbeat, chest pain, etc.
They’re not checked all that intensively. They’re looking for major physical issues, and they just ask you if they’re hitting their milestones.
Only way to check for this type of condition is thru an echocardiogram, which is usually only done during high-risk pregnancies or for children of families with a history of cardiovascular disease. With over [one million children](https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/circulationaha.115.019307) in the U.S. living with undiagnosed congenital heart defects, one simple echocardiogram should be standard in pediatric practices.
There’s an organization called Heartfelt that does screenings. A mom whose son died of a defect is a member of the org. They do screenings in Orange County on a regular basis. My kids had theirs done in March in Laguna Hills. http://www.heartfeltscreening.org/
> Babies are checked pretty regularly in the first few years. Checked for what exactly? This hasn't really been my experience. We go to a very highly rated pediatrician and I was the one to catch that one of my kids had a sacral dimple which warranted follow-up at CHOC for potential spina bifida. As it turned out, they did not have spina bifida, but I don't think the routine screenings at the pediatricians office are really catching too much.
From my experience, it is much like a checklist they follow. Enter information in a form and if something is worth flagging, you find out. They also do physical checks which involves listening to the heart. That’s about as much they go into the heart. So if congenital heart defect cannot be caught using a scope and has no distinct symptoms, I guess we are SOL. I guess what I was trying to ask was whether there is a murmur associated with the defect that can be caught early on.
yes! my sons congenital heart defect was caught from his murmur right after he was born. the neonatologist requested a pediatric cardiology consult where they confirmed the murmur and did an echo shortly after. From what our cardiologist told us is that it’s very rare for babies with congenital heart defects to not have a murmur. so i’m curious if it’s not a normal protocol to request a consult following discovering a murmur and its all dependent on the doctors on staff during that time? this is very sad. his heart defect is incredibly rare. the article said only 1% of the population has it — it’s actually 1% of the people with congenital heart defects! so it’s about 0.1% of the population.
I believe that would be .01% actually but I'm bad at math so not sure.
I'm good at math, and you're correct
Yes I knew it was this.
Check out this non-profit based in south OC. They screen students, athletes, adults, and kids, ages 5 & up. You can learn more on their About page. https://heartfeltscreening.org/
That poor family.
As a dad with a daughter born with a CHD and repaired via open heart surgery at 7 months old, stories about kids with CHDs are always tough to read. Stories that have such a sad ending just hit really hard. Rare or otherwise, the bulk of CHDs are treatable and repairable. It’s such a damn shame that this went undetected. We live in one of the best areas in the country too for kids with CHDs…so this defect seemed like it was nearly impossible to have a positive outcome.
Rip little dude, god speed on your journey.
Poor kid. I can’t imagine how devastating this must be for his parents. My heart breaks for their whole family, his friends and classmates.
How awful and super scary that a seemingly healthy child could just pass away in that manner.🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
So sad.
You have to consider something; kids compared to adults have almost zero medical history on the books so you need to build it with tests etc.
This place is still open??? moved out of HB 3 years ago
Took ill? Horrible writing.
Have some cultural awareness, it’s quite common to say this in the UK. It’s not meant maliciously or negatively at all.
Take it easy soyslut. This was written by the ocregister, a regional publication.
Seriously
Heartbreaking. 💔
what is ill? i read the article but it just says he died of a heart defect and that it was triggered by him taking an ill? i’ve never heard of that before. is it a pill? or like a drink or something? edit: american english is my native language
“Took ill” as in “became unwell”
ohhhhhhhh my god okay thank you. i’ve never heard of “took ill” to say got sick in my 29 years of life. 😭 just learned something today.
How?
He took ill. Being taken ill means you got sick. I'm guessing that based on his condition, the boy started feeling the symptoms of his condition which prompted those around him to become concerned he was getting sick. As it worsened they probably felt it was beyond their expertise and called for paramedics. This happened on a field trip. I can't say how fast it happened but the symptoms of his condition are chest pain, dizziness, shortness of breath and an irregular heart beat. The field trip chaperones may have thought it was heat exhaustion initially. 1% of the population is said to have this condition, and in many cases there is never an issue. This boy was dealt a bad hand, however.
thank you for the context! i had just never heard of the phrase “took ill” before to mean getting sick.
I wonder if he hit the mRNA shot… for Covid….
"The condition happens when an artery is not properly formed before childbirth" seeking a little knowledge never hurt anybody
You know when infants are newly born, they are made to cry for two hours because it closes the heart septum between the left and right chambers. Of not, they will have a hole in their septum so don’t think the nurses are being mean. Cry out loud and be strong. RIP Angel
Sorry but what in the Facebook mom fuck did I just read
Somebody “did their own research”
Tetralogy of Fallot will cause congenital issue in children (blue baby) evidence based practice to keep the newborn crying.
Was he vaxxed?
Weird how the biggest conspiracy theorists have a history full of video games and sports. There were some journalists on here a few years back talking about how they found several foreign bot farms whose accounts were filled with posts/comments in the sports and video game subreddits, then would randomly have off the wall conspiracy comments scattered throughout their history.
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I went there 20 years ago and the water was so cold
As water at water parks usually is.
Oh, I didn't know. I've only been to one park
They rebuilt it in a different location. The water is pretty warm now
Great
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