Bismarck Tribune

By KAREN HERZOGBy KAREN HERZOG

When Cheyanne Meyer got home a week ago, Buggy the cat offered his own brand of pet therapy.

Though Cheyanne was still wobbly from the surgeries she underwent at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., Buggy had missed her so much while she was gone, he couldn't help himself from standing on her chest, kneading her with his paws and, well, drooling on her from sheer happiness.

There's nothing like a big welcome-home to help along the recovery process, even if it's from a Persian cat standing on your stitches while offering his devotion.

Cheyanne, 11, daughter of Lynnie Meyer and Carlos Meyer, had open heart surgery June 5 for a condition called hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, which means that the heart is severely enlarged and the septum thickened, said Lynnie Meyer of Mandan.

Cheyanne's heart condition was discovered around age 5, her mother said, when she was being treated for a chronic cough.

The condition is severe enough that she could have died, she added.

Surgeons at Mayo entered Cheyanne's heart through a valve and removed the thickness from the septum, Lynnie Meyer said. The procedure required Cheyanne to be on a heart and lung bypass machine while under anesthesia. The Mayo staff was great, keeping her informed of every development during the surgery, Lynnie Meyer said, though for her, the whole day was a blur.

Cheyenne also had a defibrillator implanted as a kind of "insurance policy" for her own heartbeat, her mother said.

Ronald McDonald House there also was wonderful, she said, giving her and Cheyanne a place to stay until Cheyanne was strong enough to withstand the drive home to Mandan.

Cheyanne will have physical restrictions on how much she can move or lift for about six weeks, Lynnie Meyer said. She returns to Rochester in mid-September for a follow-up visit.

The staff told Lynnie Meyer that Cheyanne was one of the best patients they'd ever had because she was so patient and cooperative.

A benefit fund was established at Capital Credit Union for Cheyanne before the surgery to help with expenses, including travel and Lynnie Meyer's time off work. Lynnie Meyer said she is thankful to everyone who contributed to the fund and also for the prayers of the community for Cheyanne.

"There were a lot of prayers," she said.

The benefit account is still open to help with additional expenses for travel and follow-up care. Donations may be made to "Benefit Account for Cheyanne Meyer" at any Capital Credit Union location or by mail to Box 2096, Bismarck, N.D., 58502.