Monday, April 7, 2014

Cardiology check-up

Today was Elijah's first day back at school after a long spring break. He had an "awesome" day! Wooo! We picked him up a bit early and scooted downtown for his bi-yearly cardiology visit. My tummy always feels a bit "off" on cardio-visit days, and today was no exception. All was well, though. In fact, everything looked GREAT! Dr. G had told us last fall to expect another heart cath this summer. Well, guess what! His heart function and pressures looked great (for him) today, so no heart cath for another 6-9 months! This will be the longest stretch between heart caths EVER!

We asked Dr. G about a timeframe for the next valve replacement (open heart), and he said it would be a minimum of two years. Maybe more. Elijah has some big growing years ahead of him so the faster he grows, the sooner the next big surgery will need to happen. We're thinking 2016 might be The Year.

I know E's sleep doctor has conferred with Dr. G about the new meds he is taking to help improve sleep, but I couldn't help but ask him about the meds myself. He had ZERO worries about these meds adversely affecting his heart function in any way. Phew! It always feels good to get the Dr. G endorsement firsthand. Love him.

By the way, we have been verrrrry gradually increasing Elijah's sleep meds over the past 10ish days and we really have no idea if they are working. I think he is sleeping a bit later in the mornings, but his behavior at home hasn't been ideal. We will continue with the meds for a bit longer, increasing the dosage by a bit, and see how things go. THANK YOU to the commenter who suggested the baby video monitor to keep an eye on his sleeping during the night. What a great idea! It's on my list for this week so I don't have to wonder for hours during the night whether he is asleep or wide awake.

Literally while we were at the doctor's office today I got a call from the neuropsychologist's office. They had received our paperwork and were ready to schedule an appointment. Yay! It is much sooner than I anticipated, so Elijah will have a FIVE-HOUR evaluation done on April 29th. I know this will provide us with even more valuable insight into how Elijah works and thinks. I'm genuinely giddy about this visit, whatever "news" we receive. The puzzle pieces keep clicking into place!

Dan leaves for a five-day work trip tomorrow, so the boys and I will be flying solo for a while! Our agenda includes: a bit of daycare time for Sammy so I can get some work done (he is NOT happy about this), a visit to the library (Elijah is very interested in Abraham Lincoln lately), trips to the park, pizza-movie night, GREAT days at school and lots of boy-Mama time! Please pray Dan's trip goes well and that the boys and I have a healthy, fun week. Wishing you all an incredible week, too!

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