Heart Surgeons To Try To Save Young Girl's Life

Judy Lynn Funsch nf ncar Flinl smiled coquettishly and flashed blue eyes from behind long, blonde strands covering her forehead. "I'm going to have heart surgery," the 5-year-old said matter-of-factly betvveen slurps on a popsicle. Judy entered University Hospital here yesterday, a place she has come to know well. Tomorrow she will undergo a rare and delicate heart operation. Doctors are not optimistic about her chances of surviving. "We know it's risky, but she's got no other way," said Mrs. Clarence Funsch of suburban Genessee T o w n s h i p, Judy's mother. Without surgery, doctors do not believe that Judy will live more than a few years. If the operation is successful, she can look forward to a normaj life. The decisión for the parents was painful. " I didn't agree immediately," Mrs. Funsch said. Without surgery, the family might have a few years logether. With surgery, it might all end suddenly, or Judy might recover and live a normal life. "The doctors told us we had to decide quickly," Funsch said. "The lonser we waited the less chance there was of success. . Funsch admits that there were times when he wanted to back out. "I'm the kind of guy who likes to hang on to what Tve got. I don't want to gamble or take chances. I don't want to let go of what I've got. "But I realize that my daughter will be nöthing if she doesn't have the operation. She couldn't live to be 10, and even if she could she wouldn't be like other kids. She would never reach adulthood. "If the surgery is successful she'll be a normal child with a normal life ahead of her. She'll be able to start school this fall and eat normally and grow," he said. "I would rathcr have her living for sure than take the chance," Mrs. Funsch added. Judy's condition is called pulmonary venous obstruction. It means that there is an obstruction in a vein bringing oxygenated blood from the lungs to the heart. "To see her, you wouldn't hink there was a thing wrong vith her," Mrs. Funsch said. 'She plays normally, although he tires easily." Only her small size (she veighs 28 pounds) gives an out,vard sign of the trouble within. Because of the lung complica. ;ion, Judy is highly susceptible o disease. She has been hospitalized numerous times for pneumonia and has suffered :ongestive heart failure. She narrowly escaped death Zuring some of these illnesses. Each new attack is dangerous. Since infancy, when her condition was diagnosed, Judy has :ome for regular examinations at University Hospital. "At first, the doctors told u; that nothing could be done foi Judy and she was doomed,' Funsch said. Bu last October, doctors de cided that an.operation could b attempted to either remove th( obstructed vein segment oi replace it with a syntheti material. The doctors feared howevei, that she might no survive the surgery. "What made me decide ü when they told me that shJ might become old enough t realize what was happening tJ her," she said. "I couldn't beaj that."