DELTON, Mich. — It was a typical October day at cross country practice for 16-year-old Kendal Pluchinsky when the unexpected happened.
“I went to get a drink because I was extremely thirsty and then all of a sudden my heart started pounding and I thought it was just nothing so I ignored it,” says Kendal.
A fast heartbeat for an athlete can be a normal feeling when it lasts for just a few seconds, but when Kendal got home from practice the irregular beat continued, sending his family straight to the emergency room.
“His heart was hitting 240 at that point and it literally was pounding out of his chest,” says his father, Rob.
The rhythm continued and doctors decided to transport Kendal in a special ambulance to the University of Michigan.
After 21 hours, his heart finally was back on track following an eight hour surgery. Kendal was diagnosed with Wolff Parkinson White Syndrome, a condition where there is an extra electrical pathway in the heart causing his rapid heartbeat.
Just when they thought things couldn’t get worse, the following day Kendal’s identical twin, Ashton, went in for testing to learn he has the same irrelgular heartbeat.
“They were pretty blown away that they both had it, but being identical twins they do tend to share a lot of things, so I guess this was one of them,” says mother Adrianne.
Ashton was next in line for surgery his lasting 10 hours before doctors said they would have to do it again because it was a failure.
Now the family that was already under a severe financial strain is faced with two medical bills and more surgeries to come.
If you would like to help the family feel free to donate on their GoFundMe.
There will also be a fundraiser on Nov. 30 at the Delton Moose Lodge.
