New technology at Texas Children's Hospital keeping child alive in Kansas

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A new tool at Houston's Medical Center is keeping a young child alive. The device watches over him 24 hours a day when his doctors can't.

Parker Flax is almost 2 years old and is the first child in Texas to have a special monitoring device surgically implanted in his chest at Texas Children's Hospital this year.

Last year he had a massive heart attack. His mother says he was pale, had no pulse, and the closest ambulance was 20 minutes away in rural Kansas.

"He just all of a sudden collapsed on the floor. I knew right then he was in trouble," said mother Jessica Flax."It was terrifying. It was absolutely the worst experience of my life."

Doctors say one side of Parker's heart was 100 percent blocked. Bypass surgery on a toddler that small was ruled out, so he was flown by Life Flight to Houston's Medical Center for treatment.

"At that moment, I knew that he might not survive," Jessica Flax said.

Doctors diagnosed Parker with Kawasaki disease. The condition causes inflammation in the blood vessels, so Parker was put on blood thinners.

"This really is life or death for them. It really is, Parker already had one episode where he was brought back to life," said assistant professor at Texas Children's Hospital Dr. Caridad Delauz.

Parker's parents were always on alert, frightened that his heart might fail again.

"I would sleep with him at night and I would wake up 10 to 20 times a night to check to make sure he was breathing alright," Jessica Flax said.

Doctors implanted a small, lightweight device next to Parker's heart called a Reveal LINQ. It monitors his heart all the time and records his heart rhythms when there's an issue. The new technology is able to send information back to doctors in Houston, even though he lives two states away in Kansas.

"To monitor from so far away is pretty amazing. It absolutely is. It's like having him, right down the street. It really doesn't matter, how far away he is, where his family travels, they can be in contact with us in a matter of minutes," Delauz said.

Parker's Reveal LINQ has already detected a small stroke, but nothing life threatening.

"I sleep a lot better. I know Jessica sleeps a lot better," said father Daniel Flax.

The heart monitor, which costs $20,000, will last for about three years. Then, doctors will reassess what comes next.