Awesome News! Heart Looks Great!

16 months old

This past Thursday, Levi had a much anticipated appointment with his cardiologist.  It'd been three months since his last check-up (the longest we've ever gone).  He's 4.5 months post open heart surgery and 16 months old.

The awesome news is that his aortic stenosis is only mild and everything about his heart really looks great!  


As you may recall, at his last appointment I was pretty bummed to hear that his aortic stenosis was back up to moderate only two months after surgery.  The cardiologist thinks that the variance in readings is most likely due to how sedated Levi was.  In August he was sedated with Versed (medazolam).  This made him groggy, but didn't put him out and he was still fairly active during the exam.  He also didn't come out of it well, and was very agitated, so we decided to try a different drug the next time around.  At Thursday's appointment he was sedated with a dose of chloral hydrate instead, the same sedation used for his echos at Stanford.  This put him fully to sleep.  The echo tech was able to take her time and do a very thorough reading since he wasn't moving at all.

an evening of trick-or-treating

I was nervous when the cardiologist came in.  But she quickly broke into a big smile and said his whole heart looked just great!  In disbelief, I immediately said give me the numbers and the specifics.  There must be something that's not quite right, there's always something.  I wanted so badly to hear only good news, but I also wanted to be prepared for disappointment.  Nope, she said everything looks really, really good!  Honestly!  His aortic stenosis is mild, his aortic insufficiency is very, very mild, his left ventricle is completely normal with no thickening or dilation, and his ascending aorta still looks good too.  His blood pressure was perfect.

I kept asking if she was sure and waited for the other shoe to drop.  It never did.  She assured me that his heart really does look great and there's nothing to worry about right now.  She doesn't want to see him for another six months.  SIX MONTHS!!!  I can hardly fathom not going in till next May.  He'll be nearly two years old by then.  It felt like we lived in that office for Levi's first year.  She even said that if he looks good in six months, then we'll stretch it to a year.  So far the repair is working well and we'll just see where things are at the next appointment.  It's possible it could be years though, before another intervention is needed.

playing with Mommy's hats this morning

This awesome news is just now finally sinking in.  What a roller coaster this journey has been.  I'm just thankful we're finally on an upswing.  Thanks be to God that Levi's heart is actually doing well!!!!  I can hardly believe it!

The doctor said Levi has no physical restrictions of any kind and he's not on any medications.  Oh how I hope this lasts for a long, long time!

Thank you to all who have come beside us and supported us and prayed for us on this crazy journey.  We're just so excited to finally breathe more easily.

I also can't help but think about Levi's amazingly gifted surgeon, Dr. Hanley.  He comes to mind quite often, and I'm incredibly thankful that he's given our son such a hopeful outlook.  To think that Levi still has his own aortic valve and it's actually working pretty darn well is amazing to me.

As Thanksgiving approaches it's overwhelmingly evident how much we have to be thankful for -- our health, our family and friends, and most of all, a God who is merciful, faithful, and loving.  Even when times are tough and the trials of this life seem like they're more than we can handle, He is there to sustain us and bless us.

And right now we're especially thankful for this period of rest from medical exams and the chance to just hug our three little boys and enjoy life together.

my sweet boy!