Telemedicine helps doctors tackle Kyle's heart defect
It was half-time at the Northwestern University men's basketball game versus Michigan State and the crowd of 8,500 was on its feet, cheering emphatically for the boy in an oversized purple jersey who stood alone on the court, dribbling a basketball. Kyle had been pulled from the stands for a shooting contest, and given one minute to make seven baskets, no small feat considering the added pressure of a capacity crowd.
With his heart racing, Kyle takes aim and makes his first shot. The clock is ticking...
Moments like these are not as nerve-racking as they should be for Mark and Pamela, who have seen their son emerge victorious from far more precarious situations. After all, it was only 10 years ago that Kyle's life nearly ended as soon as it began.
After a normal pregnancy and delivery without complications, the 7-lb 6-oz. Kyle was born a week early at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights. However, routine tests performed a couple hours after Kyle's birth detected a heart murmur. Doctors immediately contacted Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago to see just how serious his condition was.
Thanks to a life-saving technology, known as telemedicine, which had recently been implemented at Children's Memorial, it was only minutes before Kyle was under the watchful eye of pediatric cardiologist, Catherine Webb, MD. By connecting computers to diagnostic equipment using phone lines, specialists at Children's Memorial are able to perform real-time echocardiograms (ultrasound of the heart) and consultations for patients at remote hospitals who don't have specialists on staff. Using a live video feed, Dr. Webb was able to speak directly to medical staff at Northwest Community, instructing them on where to look for clues into Kyle's murmur.