Bennett's story: How a heart test can be life-saving

Local 10 News reporter Michael Seiden shares his son's story

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – Viewers know Michael Seiden as a charismatic Local 10 News reporter who tells stories important to South Florida.

But Michael and his wife, Jessica, are also new parents with their own story to tell about little Bennett.

"Just having such a beautiful and healthy son, you finally get him home and realize, 'He's ours and we get to raise him,'" Michael Seiden said. "It's just an unbelievable feeling."

But the joy of new parenthood didn't last long.

At 2 weeks old, Bennett became lethargic and he stopped eating.

That's when Jessica Seiden took him to the pediatrician.

"One of the doctors listens to his heart and called in another doctor, and when she came in, she flipped him over, listened and said immediately, 'We need to call rescue,' at which point I almost fell on the floor," she said.

The diagnosis was Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which caused Bennett's tiny heart to beat dangerously fast at times.

"WPW, or Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, is a congenital cardiac anomaly that involves the electrical system of the heart," pediatric cardiologist Dr. Madeleen Mas said.

Basically, Bennett has extra wiring in his heart that causes a rapid heart rate.

He now comes to Nicklaus Children's Hospital for treatment and monitoring.

Sometimes, the problem goes away on its own, but if it doesn't, a simple laser procedure called an ablation can fix it when Bennett's a little bigger.

"As a parent, it's the most stressful thing, and like I said, it's very scary, because this is something that wasn't even on our radar," Michael Seiden said.

Even though Bennett has been hospitalized four times already, the Seidens still feel lucky knowing that their little boy can be treated.

 

Other families don't find out until it's too late.

 "It felt like it was a dream," Chris Mitchell said. "It felt like, literally, this is a bad dream. Somebody wake me up."

Mitchell is talking about the day his 18-year-old son, Dwayne, went into cardiac arrest and then into a coma. The high school senior and athlete died months later, the victim of undetected WPW syndrome.

"If I could go back and do it all over again, Dwayne would have had an EKG done and he would have had the ablation immediately, and he would still be here right now," Mitchell said.

An electrocardiogram is the best way to detect the condition and a growing number of pediatric cardiologists, including Mas, believe all young people who have physicals before playing sports should also have an EKG.  

"It's simple," Mas said. "There are no side effects and no pain involved, and it can be life-saving."

It is a message that both the Mitchells and the Seidens want all parents to hear. 


About the Author:

Kristi Krueger has built a solid reputation as an award-winning medical reporter and effervescent anchor. She joined Local 10 in August 1993. After many years co-anchoring the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m., Kristi now co-anchors the noon newscasts, giving her more time in the evening with her family.