Lombard preschooler faces complex surgery
Tim Grobart likes basketball, his big brother, Star Wars and the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine."
His favorite food is, of all things, steamed broccoli. He ordered a big plate of it after a recent heart surgery, amazing his nurses.
Watching the red-haired 3-year-old run around his Lombard home, you'd never guess he suffers from a serious heart defect. Then the little boy pulls up his Thomas the Tank Engine pajama top, revealing a long scar down the middle of his thin chest and a bulge on one side of his tummy.
That's his pacemaker. "It's a big lump," Tim explains. "The battery keeps it pumping."
The two lower chambers of Tim's heart, the ventricles, operate in reverse - a condition that occurs in about 1 in 25,000 births. The chamber that's supposed to pump blood to his body serves his lungs; the weaker chamber is working in overdrive to pump blood throughout his body.
The winsome preschooler already is a veteran of four surgeries, including one to repair a hole in his heart and one to fix a leaky valve.
Now he's facing his riskiest operation yet - a "double switch" to essentially rewire his heart by disconnecting major blood vessels and reconnecting them to the correct chambers.
It's one of the most complex cardiac surgeries performed. The little boy will be on cardiac bypass, his heart stopped, during most of the all-day procedure June 16 at the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital.
"This is what all his other surgeries have been leading up to," said his mother, Christine Grobart.
Doctors told the family to expect a two-week hospital stay, the first several days in the pediatric intensive care unit.
Christine, her husband Jeff, their 6-year-old son Louis and both sets of grandparents will be in Ann Arbor for the surgery. The Grobarts plan to stay in a hotel for families that's attached to the hospital and only steps away from the PICU.
"If he wakes up and cries, the nurses can call me and I'll come," Christine said.
Family and friends are planning a fundraiser to help the Grobarts with medical expenses beyond what's covered by insurance as well as travel costs. It's from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at Bricks Wood Fired Pizza and Cafe in Lombard, one of the family's favorite restaurants.
Tim is looking forward to "the party."
He's a little guy with "a huge personality," his dad says. The giggly, wiggly preschooler tries hard to keep up with his older brother, but he tires sometimes. Doctors have told the family he'll have more energy after the heart surgery.
"The other day we played outside for several hours in the morning and he came home and he slept for two or three hours," Christine said. "It does take it out of him."
He takes daily blood pressure medication and a diuretic so his heart doesn't have to work so hard.
Tim's operation be performed by Dr. Edward L. Bove, one of the top pediatric heart surgeons in the country. "We're nervous, but also confident (in the doctors)," Jeff Grobart said. "There is not a lot of history with this operation and what history there is seems to be pretty mixed results."
More heartening, he added, is recent word "that the operations have been more successful, which is comforting."
The support of their family and friends helps, too. The Grobarts try to keep everyone informed through a blog at littletimmygrobart.blogspot.com.
Without the surgery, Tim's heart would grow progressively weaker, his parents said, and he could need a heart transplant by the age of 10 or 11.
Being so young, Tim probably won't remember much about the surgery or recuperation. His happy disposition always makes him a favorite of the nurses, who cater to him, Christine Grobart said. And he's remarkably patient and pleasant with all the poking and prodding he goes through. "The blood draws he doesn't like," Christine said, "but who does?"
Even after the surgery, Tim will still have a pacemaker to regulate his heartbeat. And while this should be his last big surgery, he'll always need specialized cardiac care.
Tim will spend the summer recovering at home with his adored big brother and three dogs, including the naughty one that tries to pull the boys' PJ pants down. Tim thinks that's really funny.
He won't be able to go to the pool, but he'll have plenty of time to watch his favorite TV show, "Backyardagins."
There might even be a special surprise at the end of the summer - a trip to Disney World, if doctors give his parents the all-clear.
"Because he will be spending the entire summer inside, we might head down to Florida," Jeff Grobart said, "and celebrate his recovery as a family."
Fundraiser for Tim Grobart
When: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, June 5
Where: Bricks Wood Fired Pizza & Cafe, 132 W. St. Charles Road, Lombard
What: 10 percent of sales accompanied by fundraiser flyer will be donated to the Timothy Grobart Medical Fund. To print out a flyer, go to littletimmygrobart.blogspot.com. Donations also may be sent to Timothy Grobart, Chase Bank, 223 E. Roosevelt Road, Lombard, IL 60148, Attention: Linda DiBrito.