Heart Happenings

Happy Sunday, friends!

Thank you for the prayers surrounding Ethan's check-up with his cardiologist on Friday.  Yet again, he was quite the model patient and I couldn't be more thankful for his patience and tolerance for all things medical.  As expected, Dr. I requested an echo and EKG, and he also interrogated Ethan's pacemaker.  We received stellar news across the board!

Ethan is now up to 34 pounds (!!) and stands just under 40 inches tall.  His oxygen and blood pressure readings were fantastic, and his resting heart rate is right where it should be.  Pre-echo, these were all great indicators that his heart is doing just fine.  Dr. I also noted that Ethan's murmur sounded much less "dramatic" than it did before the cath, and the echo backed up his findings! The max pressure gradient across the conduit was around 57 mmHG, which is up from the immediate post-cath pressure, but still OK.  Ethan's heart function continues to remain normal, even with the added pressure to the right ventricle, which is great news!

The pacemaker interrogation found that the battery in Ethan's pacemaker only has about a year and a half left before it will need to be changed.  We will be having some big conversations, and making some big decisions, between now and then - but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.  Right now, my boy is stable and healthy and that's where we're putting our focus.

We left with very strict instructions to ride Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin as many times possible and to not come back for another six months!

That, we can do.

In true fall fashion, we celebrated the good news at my and Ethan's first football game of the season.  Jeramie's brother is the head coach for a high school here in North Carolina and Ethan loves him some Vikings!

It was great to be there for a Viking WIN, and to see my brother-and-sister-in-law one last time before our first nephew (and Ethan's first cousin!) makes his debut.  Talk about a lot to celebrate!

Thanks for checking in - I hope y'all had a wonderful weekend!