Heart, lungs factors in H1N1 death

5-week-old born with congenital heart defect

By Tim Engstrom | Albert Lea Tribune

Published Friday, October 23, 2009

The Freeborn County child the Minnesota Department of Health on Thursday reported as having died from complications due to an infection with the H1N1 novel influenza also had critical heart and lung conditions.

The family of 5-week-old William Anton Cech confirmed the infant had H1N1, which complicated an already complicated medical situation.

"If he had gotten a rotten cold, I’m sure that would have been tough for him, too," said grandmother Addie Rust. "H1N1 isn’t what killed him."

William was born on Sept. 9, 2009, at Albert Lea Medical Center to Brandon Cech and Samantha Anderson of Albert Lea. He weighed 7 pounds 8 ounces. The boy’s grandparents were Dean and Kellie Anderson of Hayward and John and Addie Rust of Clarks Grove. With permission from the parents, grandmother Addie Rust relayed to the Tribune the story of William.

The parents took William home on Sept. 11 and enjoyed a few days with their newborn. They brought William in for the one-week checkup on Sept. 16. A doctor at ALMC noticed something was wrong with him and recommended taking the baby to Rochester. A cardiologist at St. Marys Hospital checked him and immediately admitted him to the hospital for further tests.

Doctors found William had hypoplastic left heart syndrome. It is a rare congenital heart defect that Mayo.com describes as "a condition in which the left side of the heart is critically underdeveloped."

The condition had not been detected on ultrasounds prior to birth, as usually happens with heart defects.

"If they had detected this before, they never would have released him from the hospital," Rust said.

Little William survived a risky heart surgery on Sept. 18. He then was on a machine that bypasses the heart and lungs to oxygenate the blood — an ECMO machine, "extra corporeal membrane oxygenation" — and then he was off it, with a ventilator assisting breathing.

However, his potassium levels would go up and cause his heart to stop. Fortunately, medical staff caught the stops, though one night the heart stopped longer than others. Doctors also couldn’t understand why the lungs would fail. Finally, parents agreed to put the infant back on the ECMO machine.

"At this point he was sleeping almost all the time," Rust said. "He had so many tubes in him, poor little guy."

The doctors were trying to suction his lungs to find the problem. Tubes produce excess mucus, so they sought a deep-lung specimen and tested it for the flu.

The test came back as H1N1 novel influenza. Doctors then knew what they were dealing with.

Between the ECMO, the heart stops and the lung problem, the poor oxygenation would have left William with severe brain damage. If he had lived, he would have had to feed through a tube for his life. He also would have needed two more risky heart surgeries.

"I was hoping and praying that they were wrong about some of this," Rust said.

On the final day, Oct. 15, family members got to hold William without the masks and gloves they had been wearing during visits. As Brandon and Samantha held William, the medical staff "gradually turned down the oxygen," the grandmother said.

Rust said H1N1 was merely one factor in William’s complications. The child could have contracted a seasonal flu or a bad cold that might have contributed to the problems, too. She said people should not be alarmed over William’s H1N1 virus and noted Americans die each year from seasonal flu viruses.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health, a Martin County woman in her 60s and a Steele County child younger than 7 years also died within the last two weeks. They, too, had underlying health conditions.

The total Minnesota deaths with connections to the H1N1 virus since its outbreak last April is 10. The total Iowa deaths is four.

“We are sad to report these deaths, and we extend our sympathies to the families and loved ones,” said Minnesota Commissioner of Health Sanne Magnan.

Rust recalled the happy days William got to spend at home, saying he had chubby cheeks and was a nice size.

"It was totally unexpected," she said.

The boy was the first child for the parents and first grandchild for both sets of grandparents.

He also was survived by great-grandparents Carolyn and Ronnie Jenson of Twin Lakes, Sally Anderson of Hayward and Evelyn Williamson of Glenville; stepgreat-grandfather Obert Rust of Albert Lea; great-great-grandmother Margaret Bergland of Albert Lea; aunt Katie Rust and uncle Barry (Katie) Cech.

William was preceded in death by his grandfather, A. Delyn Cech; great-grandparents Orris Anderson, Donald Williamson and Anton and Josephine Cech; great-great-grandparents Helmer Bergland, Mabel and Ordin Jenson.

A funeral service was held Monday. William Anton Cech — pronounced like “check” — is buried at the Bohemian Cemetery near Myrtle. Click here to read the obituary.

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