The Broken Miracle — The heart

Sawyer

The heart

Also known as Tom Sawyer

• I · 1Paul's original heart, named after Rush's “Tom Sawyer.” Diagnosed with double inlet left ventricle.
• I · 5A secret Paul tells only Jonahs, who first suggested the name.
• I · 11Grows to the size of an NFL football and crushes Paul's lungs.
• I · 17Swells along with Paul's liver, pressing on his other organs until his right lung nears collapse.
• I · 18Its right side has ballooned, so blood just swirls inside it.

Cash

The heart

Also known as Johnny Cash

More about Cash is revealed in the books.

Double inlet left ventricle

The heart

• I · 1Paul's defect: only the left ventricle works, so blood from both atria mixes.

Blue baby

The heart

• I · 1The nickname for babies born with too little oxygen in their blood.

Endocarditis surgery

The heart

Also known as the infection

• I · 9At thirteen, a walnut-sized viral infection on the site of Paul's newborn surgery requires emergency open-heart surgery.
• I · 14Paul calls it his endocarditis surgery.

The Fontan

The heart

Also known as Fontan revision

• I · 15The surgery Paul has at fourteen, named for Francis Fontan, to help his blood flow smoothly.
• I · 18Dr. Kupo later proposes a Fontan revision. Dr. Brown says it would kill him.

Pacemaker

The heart

• I · 19Placed at fourteen, then moved because Sawyer lacks veins for the leads. One lead falls off, and Paul goes back into surgery.
• I · 18As an adult, the pacemaker and amiodarone steady his rhythm.
• I · 19Moved to Paul's abdomen, with its leads screwed into the outer walls of Sawyer's muscle.

Milrinone

The heart

• I · 17An IV heart medication Paul wears in a fanny pack, through a line in his arm.
• I · 21The fanny pack's tube runs up Paul's shirt and out his sleeve into an artery in his right arm, taped to his skin.

Cardioversion

The heart

• I · 17A shock to reset the heart's rhythm. Once, the sedation failed and Paul felt it all.

R2D2

The heart

• I · 18Paul's bulky white home oxygen concentrator, which beeps like a microwave.
• I · 18Rolls on four wheels, has room for a humidifier bottle, and its buttons and lights look like staring eyes. It sits beside Paul's piano bench.

The pager

The heart

• I · 18Given to Paul when he is listed on August 22. Once it goes off, he has one hour to reach the hospital.
• I · 21Soon becomes obsolete; the pager program fades as most people carry cellphones.

The Christmas heart

The heart

More about The Christmas heart is revealed in the books.

Biopsies

The heart

More about Biopsies is revealed in the books.

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome

The heart

Also known as HLHS

• II · 1Gracie's condition.

Cystic fibrosis

The heart

More about Cystic fibrosis is revealed in the books.

Ventricular septal defect

The heart

Also known as VSD

• II · 10Maria's nephew's condition.

Portable oxygen cylinders

The heart

Also known as portable oxygen cylinder

• I · 18The travel version of R2D2: a silver cylinder on two wheels and two metal legs, its green top holding the regulator, valve and flow meter, with a black-tipped metal handle.
• I · 21Paul's portable oxygen tanks, about twenty pounds each. Three stand in a row by the stairs at home, and Olivia carries them through the snow.