Boy, 12 recovering from cardiac arrest

Sitting on the couch in the family room of his family’s Columbia Falls home, Beau Bronson looks like an average sixth-grader.

He’s wearing a Dragon Ball Z T-shirt, gym shorts, his hair slightly tousled, and one wouldn’t know at first glance that the 12-year-old recently survived sudden cardiac arrest. 

Beau pulled down part of his shirt near his left shoulder, revealing a thin scar. Underneath his muscle are a defibrillator and pacemaker that were implanted Oct. 20 after he was diagnosed with catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, a rare genetic disorder.

Even rarer is that Beau survived the cardiac arrest.

His mother, Rose, said most people diagnosed with the disorder know by the age of 20. Often cardiac arrest is the first noticeable — and often fatal — symptom.

“Most people don’t even know when these things happen and it causes sudden death, or in Beau’s case there were people there to help him right away,” she said.

She said people confuse cardiac arrest with a heart attack. Cardiac arrest is an electrical disturbance to the heart that stops blood flow to the body. A heart attack is a result of loss of blood flow to the heart, usually from a blood clot in the coronary artery, according to www.mayoclinic.com.

Beau has no memory of Oct. 8, the day his life changed.

His mother and Jon, his father, have to relay most of the story.

“All I know is that I went into cardiac arrest and hit the ground hard,” Beau said.

Beau had planned to spend the night at his friend’s house in Kalispell.

His father recently had come home from working the North Dakota oil fields to recover from a foot injury incurred when metal cement head weighing between 300 to 400 pounds slipped from a fork truck and landed on his foot.

Jon and his friend Chuck Reeves unloaded Beau’s bicycle and directed him to where his friends were playing.

“We took his bike out, Beau takes off and we unloaded his [overnight] bag. He took a right on what would have been Liberty [Street] and made it to next intersection, that’s where he went down,” Beau’s father said.

 Across the street, Victoria Lockwood saw Beau lying in the street and told her husband, Army veteran Kyle Lockwood. Kyle began cardio-pulmonary resuscitation on Beau until police and paramedics arrived.

“Chuck’s kids said, ‘Beau is laying out in the street. Something is wrong.’” his father recalled. “This happened within minutes from the time Beau took off. Chuck and I jump in my truck, we drive around the corner and there’s Beau laying in the street. I was losing it.”

In a state of shock, Chuck dragged him away from the activity.

“Chuck apparently game me a ride [to the hospital]. I don’t remember that at all,” Jon said.

Beau was taken first to Kalispell Regional Medical Center. He experienced multiple heart arrhythmia and was airlifted to Spokane Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital to see an electophysiologist. He was put into a medically induced coma, his body temperature lowered to 90 degrees.

By the time his parents arrived in Spokane, they were relieved to find out their son was in stable condition and doctors were more certain of Beau’s diagnosis. They stayed in a Ronald McDonald House for about two weeks while Beau underwent testing and treatment.

A week later, Beau was brought out of the coma and days later had surgery to insert the pacemaker, which will regulate his heartbeat, and a defibrillator, which will shock his heart if it stops. The Bronsons are thankful Beau did not experience any brain damage. He will continue to regularly see a cardiologist in Spokane.

“It’s pretty miraculous,” Rose said.

After the long ordeal Beau finally went home for a week and a half of recovery before going to school on Monday. He was glad to see his friends again.

Beau pushes his fingers down on each side of the scar, moving the medical equipment inside. His parents tell him to stop. Their worry for Beau is still strong. Jon brings out an X-ray of Beau’s chest and points to the equipment inside. The small disk is about two by three inches with thin wires inserted into a vein leading to his heart.

“He’ll have to get this taken out every five to 10 years to put a new battery in, depending on how often it goes off,” Jon said.

With his condition, Beau will make adjustments in life, such as not being able to play contact sports.

“I can do track, bowling, golf, tennis, pingpong, then there’s video games,” Beau said.

He was a bit bummed that he will have to wait until next year to hunt. He got his first hunting license this year.

His mother also will have to make some adjustments by letting Beau return to normal activities.

“I know it will get easier, but right now I don’t want to let him out of my sight,” she said.

Looking back, the family remembers there were some symptoms of the disorder that Beau exhibited.

At age 4, Beau had severe pains in his heart after running. His mom took him to the doctor, who thought it might be costochondritis, a harmless swelling of cartilage in the chest wall.

“They went ahead and did an ultrasound. Everything came back normal and his heart looked really good. The problem with Beau, it was something they couldn’t see.”

A few months ago he was running, fell and got back up. The Bronsons thought he had fainted.

When he was running the mile in physical education class a few weeks ago, he was brought to his knees, out of breath and coughing, with chest pains. He was diagnosed with asthma and given an inhaler, which could have worsened his condition.

Because of Beau’s condition, he will have lifelong visits to the doctor, surgeries and medical bills. To help defray expenses, the Beau Bronson trust has been established. Donations may be deposited at any Park Side Federal Credit Union.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.