Cardiology Appointment

Yesterday Dylan and I met with his cardiologist for a follow up appointment. The doctor told me that typically around Dylan's age (8 weeks), most children with an AV Canal Defect will start to show signs of heart failure. At previous appointments we have been told to watch Dylan closely for possible signs of distress, such as: heavy breathing, sweating, over tiredness and blueness around his mouth. I told the doctor that I didn't think I've noticed any of these things yet...I mean sure, he does sweat and he does sleep alot...but then again it's summer after all and he's a baby, so is this normal or is it heart failure...? She reassured me that I would "just know" when he begins to show true signs, so for now it appears that he is doing very well!!

He had an EKG done, which was lots of fun because he is suppose to lie still while they attach a million little sticky things all over his body and then continue to lie there as they try to get a good reading of his heart. Um, yeah. The doctor said that his reading came back ok and that there was nothing completely unusual about it. I am going to have trust her on this as the thing looked like a much too complicated math problem to me.

I asked the doctor a ton of questions and she sat there and talked with me about everything. She told me that the entire surgery should take about 10 hours total - from the time Dylan is handed over to the anethesiologist until he is wheeled out of the room. The actual surgery should take between 4-6 hours. He will mostly likely be in the hospital anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks. We talked a little bit about what to expect when he is wheeled out of the OR as well as his road to recovery.

So, where we go from here is another follow-up appointment in a couple of weeks in which he will most likely be put on medication. Then, the doctor will compose all of Dylan's medical records and present them to the surgeon who will then determine when the best time for his heart surgery will be. It is still most likely going to be sometime in October. They are hoping to wait until he reaches 12 lbs as apparently that minimizes the risk of complications. Dylan weighed 9lbs 7 oz on their scale yesterday, so hopefully by October he will reach 12 lbs.

As I was getting ready to leave, the doctor introduced me to a nice couple and their 3 month old daughter who just had the AV Canal repair surgery 3 weeks ago. We spoke for a while and they were able to give me helpful information as well as lots of reassurance. They were very honest with me by telling me that it is by no means easy, but it's all going to be ok. As I mentioned before, I know that Dylan is going to pull through with flying colors. It just helped reassure me that I may actually be ok as well. : )