Awesome cardiology report!

I hope everyone is cozy at home right now, spending quality time with family. We are! Because of Dan's dad's unexpected hospital stay (he's home and doing just fine!), we are spending tonight at home, just the three of us, and tomorrow with Dan's whole family, instead of the other way around.

Elijah's cardiology visit went perfectly today. Minus some trauma from having blood pressure taken and getting weighed and measured, everything went great. Things look perfect post-cath, and we don't expect to go back for four months, wooohhooo!! Dr. Gremmels even took us back to the secret room with all the computers in it and showed us the live "video" of his cath from last month. It was soo incredibly cool! It's so hard to believe what can be done by inserting a tiny catheter up the vein in his groin and into his heart. We got to see the bloodflow throughout his chest and we got a clear picture of his heart's anatomy. It is all so much bigger than I had ever pictured. I always thought everything they "worked" on was on the left side of his chest, but that's not true at all. They do work throughout his entire chest area, and plus, his heart is pretty huge. On the video we could also see all of the metal he has inside of his little body. He has about seven looped wires going up the center of his chest, meant to keep his sternum closed after surgery. Then he has a stent and the 12ish coils dancing around all over the place as his heart beats.

We finally asked The Question: What will Elijah's limitations be, and what is his long-term prognosis? I have been so afraid to ask this question, so we never have till now. I should have asked it sooner, because I think it would have given me some peace. Dr. G's answer was awesome! He said that Elijah should be able to play any sport he wants to play. He won't be the fastest and he won't be the slowest. He WILL tire more easily than most. Because he will never be "the best" in sports where speed or endurance is a factor (soccer, football, hockey), he most likely wouldn't want to continue with these sports to a super competitive degree anyway. Contact sports may limit him when he is within one year of a heart surgery, but other than that, we shouldn't try to limit him. As far as prognosis for the future, Dr. G thought that Elijah should live a normal life, going into adulthood. Having had so many surgeries, risks are obviously added to his life (heart failure, cardiac arrest), but they aren't likely (1-3%). Now, I know nothing is ever certain, but it feels so good to have Dr. G confidently say these things to us. He knows the inside of Elijah's body better than anyone, so his words are comforting.

His next open heart surgery will most likely be sooner than we had expected. Dr. G thinks we should be able to stay away from the hospital in 2009 (minus a heart cath or two), but 2010 is most likely his year for OHS #3. Kids with his anatomy typically need the valve replacement sooner than most, but after this next one, we SHOULD have quite a few years "off."

That's it for now. I just wanted to get this update written so tomorrow I can focus on Christmas, and posting fun pics and video of STEPS! You all are such an important part of our lives. Thank you for being so supportive of our family and for loving us. I don't know what I would do without all of you! God bless you all...and Merry Christmas! oxoox