Cardiology Appointment

We finally had Evin's much anticipated cardiology appointment on July 15th.  She hadn't been to the cardiologist in 7 months.  7 MONTHS!  It seemed like an eternity since we had been there.  We had really gotten used to going monthly prior to her repair surgery.

Evin wore her gold sparkly heart shirt and looked so cute.  I would love to convince her to wear a heart shirt to all of her cardiology appointments in the future.  We will see how long that lasts!  My guess is it will last as long as she lets me dress her...

Weight:  19 lbs 

She evidently lost over half a pound between her doctor's visit last week and today.  The difference in their scales is crazy!

Height:  About 31 inches 

(not sure how accurate this is either)

O2 Sats:  ???

I didn't realize it until later, but they didn't measure her oxygen saturation, which is so strange since we were at the cardiologist.  They did get it at her sick visit at the doctor a couple of days prior and her sats were at 99%!

They did an EKG and not surprisingly, Evin wasn't a fan.  She freaked out as the stickers were being put on her chest and hated it even more when they were pulled off.  Poor baby!

We had been trying to prepare for Evin to have an echocardiogram.  We knew she would have one at this appointment and we knew it would be difficult to get her to hold still.  Basically, she needed to lay on a table and hold very still for 10-15 minutes so they could do a sonogram of her heart.  Can you imagine having a 15 month old hold still for 15 minutes when they are wide awake?  It's not the easiest thing to do!  We decided we would download some apps for her on my phone and iPad and let her play with those since she really never gets to play with our phones.  That, plus books, singing, paci, and toys kept her mostly occupied and we made it through the echo with only a few tears.

We went back to our room and waited for Dr. Hackman to review the echo before she came to talk to us.  Before she came in, the echo tech came back in and said that Dr. Hackman requested a few more pictures of specific areas of Evin's heart, so we needed to go back into the echo room.  My heart dropped for 2 reasons.  The first and biggest reason was that I feared something was wrong with her heart and Dr. Hackman needed better pictures.  The second reason was that we would have to pin her down to hold still again.

We made it through the second echo relatively unscathed, and then waited.

While we waited, Evin looked absolutely adorable in her Heart Heroes cape.

Watching some Mickey Mouse on the iPad. 

Our Heart Hero.

Dr. Hackman finally came in and said that her heart looks good.  She said it pretty much looks the same that it did 7 months ago.  

-Her right ventricle pressures are still a little high, at half systemic.  If they get up to 2/3 systemic we will need to do a cath to get a better look at everything.  Her pressures are "reasonable" where they are.

-Her pulmonary branch arteries do look like they have grown some.  We will continue to pray for these to grow even more, because as they grow, the pressures in her right ventricle will go down.  She repeated again that we are "still in a wait and see" as far as a cath goes.

-Evin is cleared for all regular activities (swim lessons, Little Gym, etc.) at this point.  Dr. Hackman said if Evin was in high school right now and her heart looked like it does, she would be cleared to play sports.  She did say that her exercise tolerance might not be so good when she gets closer to a valve replacement, whenever that may be.  She will probably tire our much quicker than other kids will.  We were originally told it would be 10-15 years, but after her surgery we were told 15-20 years.  I have also heard of instances where valve replacements were necessary much earlier in the type of repair that she had.  It all really just depends on the child and how they grow and their heart grows.  We are optimistic and know that her valve replacement will come at the best possible time for Evin.

-I asked about Evin's lips turning purple when she is cold and she said it is pretty normal.  She said there is no reason that they would get blue from a heart standpoint.

Overall, we were pleased with the report.  Of course, we wish some of her arteries had grown more than they had, but at least we did not receive bad news.  No news is good news and we are thankful!  Evin doesn't have to go back for 9 months.  It is reassuring that she can go that long before her next appointment, but I know it will be a long 9 months waiting!

After we left the doctor we took our brave girl to the toy store to pick out a new toy.  This was her top pick.

And she had to settle for a shape sorter/stacking cups instead.  Sorry, sister, no pony for you!

We headed to lunch at Evin's favorite, Chick-fil-a, and she chowed down on nuggets, fruit, and a little ice cream for a treat. 

I love this comparison of Evin at the cardiologist in July 2013 vs. July 2014.  She has grown SO much and we really couldn't be more proud of our heart warrior.  I am constantly in awe of how brave and strong she is.  It is hard to believe all she has been through in her short 15 months.  Keep on showing the world how brave you are, Evin Kate!