Blessed Beyond Measure

Peter had his 6-month cardiologist appointment today. I have been dreading it for weeks. I always dread these appointments, but also, I think Isaac hitting the same age Peter was when everything fell apart has brought those familiar emotions back up again. I will never face a Dr. visit without dreading horrible news.

We figured (from past experience) that after the exam today, the Dr. would probably want to schedule an echo because it has been about 18 months since his last one. We were hoping we could avoid Peter having to be sedated, but that would largely depend on how he did for the appointment today.

I dread Dr. visits with Peter because he PANICS. And I do mean an all-out total anxiety attack. The last time he did somewhat better, but it was still a struggle. We have been preparing him for today and hoping he could remain calm enough for the Dr. to get a good exam. Armed with a new truck and some M&Ms, we faced the day.

Peter held it together through the preliminary tests - height, weight, EKG, blood pressure and pulse ox. He really wanted to cry, but we kept encouraging him and he did okay. We had a couple of minutes before the Dr. came in, which was helpful. Again, Peter started to get upset but our encouragement and the M&Ms worked wonders. Peter was very still and quiet for the Dr. and he was able to really listen for a long time. After the exam, the Dr. said he pretty much sounded the same (slight murmer over the left side of Peter's heart which has been unchanged since surgery) and he wanted to go ahead and do an echo - right then. We were so surprised and relieved. At least we could get it done and know what we were facing.

Peter did great for the echo. I was so proud of him! They put the movie "Cars" on during the test, which is Peter's favorite movie. The tech was able to do a full echo (which takes about 30 minutes) and then the Dr. came in and took a look at things himself. Tom and I both were nervous when the Dr. came in and he and the tech were discussing numbers in low voices. So many times, we have sat tense for a test only to have bad results. The Dr. then looked over Peter's chart for awhile and finally told us that his heart looks great! Praise be to God!

The main thing they are watching for is possible narrowing of that left pulmonary artery. They specifically look at the place where it was attached to the heart because scar tissue can form there, which would cause narrowing and reduce or possible even cut off blood flow to his left lung. Immediately post-surgery, the cardiologists all thought Peter would probably require heart catheterizations throughout his growth years to balloon that artery, keeping it open. In direct answer to our prayers, Peter has not required any "tuning up" as they originally thought. Although the risk of narrowing lowers as Peter gets older (because children grow the most in the first few years of life), it is something they will always have to watch. Today, the Dr. said that Peter's left pulmonary artery is 7 millimeters and it was 4.5 millimeters at his last echo 18 months ago. Also, there was no narrowing that they could see and blood flow to the lung looked good. He said that the size of the artery is normal for Peter's age, height and weight. This basically means that little to no scar tissue has formed and the artery is growing as Peter grows. It was a praise in and of itself that Peter grew so much to even cause them to want to look so closely. He said that their findings today were conducive to what we said about Peter's activity level and function as a 2 1/2 year old. We have learned that in the cardiac world, symptoms often show themselves in daily life before they're ever found out in a test. The Dr. doesn't even want to see Peter again for a year!

We couldn't possibly have asked for better news. They will continue to watch that artery, probably with yearly exams and echos, but in the Dr.'s own words, Peter is NORMAL. Unbelievable.

I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of Almighty God. - Psalm 118:17