Post-Op Update

ready to go!

Today was our post-op appointment at the Heart Clinic.  Overall, things look good and we are happy with the progress she's made since her big surgery.  Can you believe how these heart babies bounce back SO fast??!!  We are in complete awe - seriously!

super irritated with the x-ray

We will go back in 3 weeks to have an echo done and follow-up with the cardiologist again at that time.  The pressures in the left and right sides of Margaret's heart are still a concern as are the size of her pulmonary arteries and the small MAPCAs.  The echo will give the team an opportunity to get an idea as to whether or not her PAs are growing at a sufficient rate or if they need to place a stent.  They will also be able to get estimates of the pressure measurements to see if they have changed at all since surgery.  After the echo we will discuss scheduling a heart cath for mid-September.  We are a little bummed to have to be going down this road already, but the anatomy of Margaret's heart is complex and we knew this all along.  A heart cath is much less invasive than open heart surgery and with the amazing advancements in technology we are extremely thankful that it is even an option.  During the heart cath the surgeon and cardiologist will be able to get precise measurements of the pressures, see the blood flow, place a stent (if needed) and be able to coil the unnecessary MAPCAs.  

trying to distract her while we waited

At this point, Margaret's heart is functioning well but one way to look at it is that it just needs a little more work to be done for a while.  The need for a heart cath does NOT in any way mean that her open heart surgery was not successful.  Actually, her surgery resulted in what the team wanted and we always knew there would be a cath scheduled sometime after surgery.  

Our appointment went smooth and was relatively quick, today.  The x-ray of her lungs looked great and we get to wean off of lasix over the next week and by then we will be done with the last med from the hospital stay as well.  This will leave Margaret only on a small dose of aspirin every 48 hours (so many alarms/reminders set to remember this one...it's kinda important...!) and her reflux medication.  This is remarkable for a kiddo who has a "broken" heart!  Definitely thanking God for her great blood pressure and sats! 🙌

oops - slept through lunch w/auntie

Margaret is absolutely thriving at home.  She had a couple of tough days and very rough nights but we seem to be getting back into our old routine thankfully.  We haven't gotten out of the house too much as we want to let Margaret's sternum heal and it's hard enough keeping her from being too wild at home let alone out and about where she tends to get extra excited!  We have 3 and a half more weeks of sternal precautions.  Technically she's allowed to do some tummy time now but she hasn't been very happy with it so we aren't pushing it.  

Shout-out to Aunt Jessie for treating us to a delicious lunch after our appointment.  Margaret says she's sorry she slept through most of our time together and promises to be more alert and exciting next time.😘

getting too big for this swing ha!

OH - for those wondering, the teeth that appeared to be ready to pop through while Margaret was in the hospital have NOT popped through yet.  The saga of teething continues...😜

That's all we've got for now!  Thank you for keeping our family in your thoughts and prayers.