2.24.2012

Peace Out, TCH - At least for 6 months...

Today was Quinn's follow up cardiology appointment and our first meeting with our new cardiologist. All week, it has been in the back of my mind --- and although I really felt like she was doing well, these heart babies can be tricky and many times, you can't tell if they are starting to have problems. This morning I was my typical bundle of nerves and spent a good part of it in prayer. You just never know...

Well, it could not have gone better.

It was the full-scale work up, EKG, chest xray, blood pressure, weight, echo, the whole kit and caboodle. And Quinn could have not have been better through it all. She handled EVERYTHING like a champ. Oh, and did I mention that our new cardiologist (still affiliated with TCH) has an office only 20 minutes from our house with FREE PARKING AND NO MED CENTER TRAFFIC? Can I get an amen???


Anyway, here's the scoop - pulse ox levels are still great in the 98-100s. Perfect.

Her echo is what they would expect to see with someone with Q's condition and particular defect. Her right ventricle, which was quite "stiff" as they call it following surgery, is now pumping much better and is "happier". Her Pulmonary Valve is still bad and will require intervention at some point. However, Dr. R predicts it could be mid-to-late teenage years before we need to do anything, although it's not a perfect science. And by then, who know what technology will be? It could be an outpatient catheter procedure vs another open heart surgery.

Another two areas they will keep an eye on is the narrowing of her pulmonary artery and her aorta (left side). Right now they are functioning well for her size but they will have to keep an eye on them to see if they grow and widen as she does. If they don't (and there's a good chance they won't), then those will require intervention through catheter where they go in and place a stent to open up those vessels. Again, it's a watch and wait thing. But to hear that can be corrected via catheter is music to my ears. And she doesn't expect that anything needs to be done anytime soon for those areas.

We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE our new cardiologist - she is incredibly down to earth, wants to be called by her first name, old enough to be "seasoned" but young enough to be on top of new developments. Not part of the old school for sure. And she was as excellent with Quinn as she was with me, explaining things to me in ways I could actually comprehend and visualize. Always key.

Blessed, blessed, blessed beyond measure. We are acutely aware that there are so many other children who do not have such fortunate outcomes. And yes, we have walked through the fires too, but to be able to come out on the other end, with such positive results and a great prognosis for Q's life, well, it just doesn't get any better than that. And I can't think of a better way to start our weekend.


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And I'm also going to combine my "Product of the Week" post with this one because these books literally kept Quinn entertained the entire 3 hours appointment. I am OBSESSED with these Priddy board books. They have larger ones (First 100 Words, First 100 Animals) that the kids love. But they also have these smaller ones that are great for travel. Whenever we go to these appointments, I always bring my own toys, because well, yuck on nasty doctor's office toys. Quinn and I had a ball reading these today. She shocks me with how much she picks up everytime we go through them. Highly recommend!!! This group below actually comes in a 4 pack for about $15.00. So worth it.



Y'all have a great Friday! We're off to date night!

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1 comment:

Lyric said...

So happy to hear she got a great report! Praise God!