Chapter V: Surge!

Little Burrito spent 7 hours with the Medicine Man. The Truncus was finally gone! For now, all little Burrito had to do was recover. To be continued...

Chapter IV: 24 Hours Until the Knife

Little Burrito is now 24 hours away from the knife. He's rather unaware of his circumstances. What he knows is that he is at home, as comfortable as he can be considering the circumstances. His little body is adjusting to the demands of Truncus and his little spirit is as resolved as ever. Little Burrito had a bath today. He really enjoys the bath. Perhaps it reminds him of swimming in the primordial seas. Water is comforting to him. That is good news, and perhaps his name will be changed to Clean Burrito. For that is what he is at the moment. On Friday, Little Burrito met the magic medicine man who was going to rearrange his little heart vessels. The medicine man explained all that he would do, in detail, step-by-step. How he would close the repair the VSD. And then disconnect the Pulmonary Arteries. And then connect the conduit to the right ventricle and then attach the Pulmonary Arteries to the conduit. Here's a picture:
It was all rather amazing, and Little Burrito was so confident in medicine man's ability, that he slept through it all. Good night.

Chapter III: Under the Tutelage of a Cardiologist

"He's doing quite well," said the Cardiologist. With those words, Little Burrito's condition was categorized, summarized, actualized, internalized, neutralized, and specialized. Needless to say, Little Burrito was mesmerized by all of the happenings around him. Earlier that day, Little Burrito and his parents checked in at the Cardiologist's office, on the north side of town, next to a rather large hospital building. On the television played a movie entitled Stuart Little, all about the exciting adventures of a little mouse. Pediatric patients were playing a wild game of Furniture Jumping while their parents were quickly losing patience. Little Burrito appeared not to be fond of the commotion. Or perhaps it was the car seat, because soon, he became restless, and Dainty-Beautiful Burrita had to take him outside in the hallway, where things were much calmer. Soon enough, Little Burrito's name was called and he was admitted. As usual, he received the usual weights and measures routine, determining that he was over 8 pounds, and had grown 5 centimeters. He was then placed on the examination table where he patiently waited for the Cardiologist. Above the examination table there hung a mobile of tropical fish. All were the same blueish, blackish, with big fins, except for one little red guy in the middle. Little Burrito's eyes were fixed to the dancing fish, even though he didn't even know what fish were. He was learning, though. And for now he was learning that fish are air-breathing creatures that hang from strings connected to the ceiling. He had also learned in the waiting room that both cats and mice talk and plot against eachother. With that, the Cardiologist entered and pronounced his fate with the "doing well" comment. He quietly listened to Little Burrito's heart and heard his valves clicking away. He then sent Little Burrito to another room where he received his third Echocardiogram. All throughout the exam, Little Burrito was so excited about the picture of his heart dancing on the screen that he kept getting his fingers stuck in the goop that accompanies the wand of insight. The wand of insight looked closely at his little Truncus heart and noted that his little Truncal valve was working quite well. Well enough to be a perfectly normal and healthy Aortic valve after the heart rearrangement. Before he left the office, Little Burrito received one more prescription and with that he was on his way back home. The Cardiologist wished him the best, and let Little Burrito's parents know that he would be praying for him, because the next time he would be visiting with the Little Burrito, his heart will be rearranged. How exciting!

Chapter II: Elephant Trunk of Eerie Art

Recently, it was brought to Little Burrito's attention that in Spanish, Burrito, means little donkey. With that it would reflexively seem that "Little" Burrito would be a sort-of redundant term. However, Little Burrito is neither Spanish nor redundant. He's also not quite so little. The son of Great-Muscular Burrito and Dainty-Beautiful Burrita, Little Burrito was born into humble circumstances. By the age of two weeks, Little Burrito was making his parents proud, gaining weight, and growing ever so quickly. Doctors were amazed at his progress, for as mentioned before, the affliction of Elephant Trunk of Eerie Art continued to burden Little Burrito, if not in an outright physical way, in a most definite affective way. I suppose Elephant Trunk of Eerie Art deserves more of an introduction since it will most definitely thicken the plot.

Elephant Trunk of Eerie Art is a nuisance that has plagued humans for as long as humans can remember. It was first recorded in the days of the Homo sapiens of the Paleolithic era. Back in those days, it was noticed that babies born in caves decorated with strange paintings of Oliphants would often suffer an initial shock so scarring that it would manifest itself in rapid breathing and general discontent. The paintings of Oliphants, especially those with curvy trunks, illuminated by the flames of an open fire would often appear to come alive to the little newborns and stir in them such an adventerous desire that they could not bear to remain in their little nook. Over the course of several months, they would languish, longing ever-so deeply to roam with the Oliphants. As they grew, the ritualistically painted Oliphants would continually beckon them. Shimmering in the nightly fires, they would seem to curl their trunks out to the child, as if imbibing in them a fervent desire to flee the cave. The Homo sapiens of that era failed to recognize the effect that the paintings would have. Father Homo sapiens would consult the Witch-doctor Homo sapiens, who would dress up like a great Oliphant and perform a magical dance at the bedside of the little newborn. This would only advance in the newborn the yearning for the open fields that the Oliphants roamed in. Soon enough, the newborns would answer the call of the Oliphants and leave their caves for the paintings. Father and Mother Homo sapiens would then ritualistically paint the memory of their little one on the cave wall, right next to the Oliphant, where he or she had always wanted to roam.

And so it went for years. Soon, humans left the caves for better shelters. But not before the effect of Oliphant paintings had been recorded and documented. The name Elephant Trunk of Eerie Art remained, long after humans left the caves for better shelter in huts and tents. Strange Oliphants continued to haunt humans, even without the paintings, and little newborns would regularly be afflicted by the strange attraction that the Oliphants expressed. By the time of the Caesars, it had adopted a Latin name - Truncus Arteriosus - which it maintained, except for the farthest regions of Siberia and Scotland, which still refer to it as Elephant Trunk of Eerie Art. By the middle ages, it was noticed that rapid breathing was a definite precursor to the calling of the Oliphants to better pastures. By the French revolution, it was said by Marie Antoinette, "Then let the Oliphants come!" All seemed quite hopeless until the middle of the twentieth century, when doctors discovered that they could in fact reverse the effects that the initial shock had had on the little child's heart. You see, the heart jumps when afflicted by the Oliphants, and when it jumps, it mixes up how it was exactly put together and becomes discombobulated. With the proper un-discombobulation procedure, twentieth century doctors discovered that the call of the Oliphants can be silenced and the heart can rest easily. Even now, in the twenty-first century, doctors are still performing the un-discombobulation procedure to dozens of newborns a year. And with great success! Oliphants are responsible for calling only 5% of afflicted children to greener grazing pastures. Ah, what medical advances! It is noted, however, that despite the surgeons' most expertly enacted procedures, the call of the Oliphants is not completely silenced. Children with Truncus Arteriosus are routinely characterized by a continued adventerous spirit. That, despite medicine's best efforts, has not been able to be silenced.

And so Little Burrito's heart is about to be un-discombobulated. His fate will not be to roam with the Oliphants quite yet. Instead, he has work to do right here, in the twenty-first century. He has to make stories, be an inspiration, achieve great feats, marvel and be marveled by, conquer great heights, discover hidden truths, uncover mysteries, answer many calls, and be loved and love in return. There is much to be done in this twenty-first century. So, un-discombobulation, here we come.

Chapter I: A Burrito From the Very Beginning

From the very beginning, little Burrito thought he was just like everyone else. He pooped like everyone else, cried like everyone else, ate like everyone else. He was happy when good things happened, and sad when bad things happened. He was excited when big things happened and ho-hum when little things happened. I intend to chronicle the life and adventures of little Burrito. Following him every turn of the way, at least almost every turn. Perhaps you will enjoy following him, perhaps not. With that, we will start at the beginning.

Little Burrito was just over 6.5 lbs, or almost exactly 3 kg, depending on your preferred measure of life. he was also 19" long, or rather 48 cm. I would think that little Burrito would prefer to refer to himself as 3 kg and 48 cm, but that's merely a conjecture at this point. Soon after plopping onto this planet, Burrito found himself with a conundrum. Doctors eventually gave this conundrum a name: Elephant Trunk of Eerie Art. In Latin, it's called Truncus Arteriosus for short, but there is no shortness about this, except for breath. Little Burrito found himself breathing quite rapidly. Then again, he doesn't really know any different. So he breathes quickly. But it doesn't stop him much. He's quite the trooper, little Burrito.

So that is Chapter I. Stay tuned for Chapter II, due soon!