Thursday, October 8, 2009

A Miracle in the Making?


I am having a hard time catching up this week after being gone, so the post will be short today! Yesterday I heard back from Parker's cardiologist and we got the details on the "when" for his surgery. She had been consulting with the surgeon and they are in agreement that next SUMMER is the best time! Wow, talk about speechless! We discussed all of the things we originally were told could cause problems if we delayed surgery, but since all children with AV canal defects have variations there is not one "best" answer. In Parker's case his VSD hole is quite small so the concern of longterm damage to his pulmonary function is not there. In fact, Parker is completely asymptomatic. The surgeon believes that waiting will give Parker the best chance at his valve repair being done successfully so no additional surgeries are needed later in life (the mitral valve leaks in many of these repairs). Parker had an original echo done in the early weeks of his life, but the sedated echo was much more definitive. I talked to our pediatrician as well and he was in agreement that delaying the surgery is not unreasonable. One of the largest concerns with going forward now is the risk of infection and exposure Parker could have in the hospital as well. In fact, Texas Children's Hospital has implemented a "screening station" outside the hospital staffed by nurses and security and it requires you to be screened before entering. In addition they no longer allow children under 12 to visit siblings. All of these things coupled with the fact that they consider him to be an "elective" surgery candidate at this point gives us time to postpone the surgery. Mike and I have to defer to the experts here, who are we to doubt? The logistics of a summer surgery would be a bit easier with the kids out of school and no homework to keep up with as well. We will follow up with his cardiologist in early December, so we are relatively "free" of Dr's visits for awhile (at least heart Drs). Please continue to pray a hedge of protection around our house from illness and Parker's continued good health.


The surgeon was quick to say he would still need surgery, but we wonder is this a miracle in the making? Only God knows, but we consider this a small miracle if nothing else or as my precious friend Kris would say, "a kiss from God!"


Be blessed!


6 comments:

  1. I agree, waiting and keeping him out of the hospital during the flu season is a great idea. If he has no symptoms, the bigger the better.

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  2. Yes a summer surgery would be much better if you asked me. He looks great and is soo cute! If the hole is small then who knows- maybe just maybe it could close up. Bennett's hole was huge we were told so there was no waiting for us. Glad he is doing so well!

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  3. Awesome news! We pray he stays healthy this winter!

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  4. Well that is great news isn't it. Yes staying out of the hospital now really is a blessing. So glad that he has no symptoms. We had surgery in May this year. Good to hear that he is doing good.:)

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  5. Wow - that's good news. Except the waiting part was the worst for me I think. I just wanted it overwith. But I'm all for avoiding more germs!

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  6. What an adorable little guy you have :). I just came to your blog from Tammy & Parker's blog (Praying for Parker). My little brother with DS is 4 1/2 and the biggest blessing around!

    Hopefully all will go well for you & your Parker and any heart surgery he may need.

    Qadoshyah

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