One Special Kid

A story for sale, an author with a Lion's Heart.

My son Malkolm. How do I describe him? He is an amazing kid with a sharp wit and a kind heart. At 2-years-old he was having regular conversations with grown-ups, and learning how to read. At 3-years-old he was learning how to golf with Dad and play with other kids at his daycare (he is three in the pic on the listing). At 9-years-old he is reading anything he can get his hands on (lots of times he gets in trouble because he can't seem to put the books down!), he is doing long division and simple algebra. He loves math and science and hopes to go to Space Camp someday when he is old enough. Right now, he's happy to say he wants to be an aerospace engineer.

At birth he was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Also known as HCM and sometimes "nicknamed" Sudden Death Disease. This is the defect that many athletes who die suddenly in competition have (but don't realize they have it until it is too late), however in a way he is blessed that he was diagnosed so early because we have known exactly what we were dealing with from the start. He has had more echocardiograms than I care to admit, and more EKGs than I can count. There is a number called a gradient -- which measures the obstruction caused by the thickened muscle in the heart. For a normal heart, this number is zero. Surgery is usually required when it gets over 50 (although this varies, surgery is usually done anywhere from 10-90), and his last stress test measured Malkolm's at 183. His blood pressure dropped to a dangerously low level during his stress test, and we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he needs this surgery. I guess we sort of knew this day would eventually come, the day they tell us that he'll have to have surgery, but the reality of it is a much different feeling than just knowing. His surgery date is March 24.

He's so excited to see what his heart will feel like afterwards. Mom - do you think I will be able to run far? Mom, do you think I'll be able to breathe better? Mom, if I'm going to be asleep for two or three days, do you think I'll lose weight? Then after a thoughtful pause ... Mom -- now I'm going to have to learn how to take my pulse like everyone else instead of just putting my finger on my chest, right? I look at him (as he's poking his sternum, looking at the ceiling, pretending to count) and I blink a couple times, not quite sure what to say, and then he laughs, a big, hearty 9-year-old boy laugh and he says "just kidding Mom." (kind of an inside joke that when explained wouldn't really be funny, but trust me, that was pretty funny).

He has many times talked about selling his dioramas on ebay or other things that he makes, but we just have never really gotten around to doing it; he's a good writer, he earned a kindergarten writing medal for being the top writer for the whole grade level in the school and his writing went to the regional competition where he placed second.

So, we're talking a bit more and he said, Mom, do you think someone would want to buy some of my stories on ebay? And then we can use the money for my surgery. *sharp breath in ... must. not. cry*

This is the kid that I pay 25 cents to pack each package (he tapes the labels on and makes sure each one has a "5-star-slip" and double checks to make sure I didn't put the wrong DVD in the envelope), and he told me that he didn't want me to pay him for a while until we finish paying for the surgery. ... OMGosh. I don't know whether to cry or laugh or just hug him -- or maybe all three.

I'm going to continue to pay him those quarters that are adding up, and I'm going to love him even more for offering to give it up, when I know how much it means to him.

Malkolm is excited to have the chance to "keep up with the other kids" and not get so out of breath all the time (that about broke my heart when he told me that ...). When I started crying he said, "Remember momma, God is in control!" Ahhhh. The faith of a child. He slays me... I adore him...

Note from Malkolm:

Hello. This is Malkolm. I'm raising money for my heart surgery. The problem with my heart that the doctors are going to fix is called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. It is where a muscle in my heart is larger than it's supposed to be, and it blocks off the blood flow, making it harder for the blood to come through and give oxygen to my heart and body.

The type of surgeries that I will be getting are called septal myectomy and they will be putting a defibrillator in my chest. The septal myectomy is when they cut off some of the muscle that is in the way. I am getting really excited about the surgery. I have many questions in my head: Will I be able to keep up more easily? Will I no longer have fainting sessions? How will I be able to take my pulse after the surgery? (right now I can see my heart beat in my chest) How much will my sternum ache? How will I be able to do things that I can't do when I'm recovering? That is not all of the questions, but they are the main ones.

My heart problem has been in me ever since I was born. My dad has it too, and I inherited it from him. It has been hard for me to be running and doing really good in a competition and then feeling like I'm going to faint. PE has been especially hard and I really like the idea of being able to keep up with everyone a little better.

My mom's been pretty worried about me, but I just tell her that God is in control and He allows things to happen for a special reason. Some of the things that He allows may be distressing but it all happens for a reason that we don't always understand. The surgery doesn't bother me much because I know God is in control, but Mom doesn't always take that concept easily.

I hope that you enjoy my story, I really like to write and am working on other stories that I will hopefully be able to get published some day. Please save your story that is signed by me and hopefully in the future it will be worth a lot more than it is now!

Thank you for buying my story, please look at the ebay listing here: http://tiny.cc/MalkolmsStory

Sincerely,

Malkolm Poyer

Excerpt from "Luna"

I keep on striding down the road, and a nice little house steps into my view. There is a closed window, and a small candle glows inside. I hear a voice: “Goodnight, Katie.” A small voice replies: “Goodnight, mommy.”

I think to myself, “I think I’ll take a peek.” I jump toward the window, trying to get their attention. As soon as I smack against the window, I black out.


...


Got to http://tiny.cc/MalkolmsStory to buy to read the rest of my story! :D