CHECK UP

Lauren has been to the hospital for different reasons four out of the last seven days. She has had a halter heart monitor put on, gone for an allergy test (no allergies!), been poked with an RSV shot, and had a heart appointment.

Yesterday's RSV shot went really well. This is not a regular shot but one that preemies, babies with cardiac issues and babies with cystic fibrosis can get. The shots are assigned on a points based system (and Lauren was one of the first ones called) because they cost a whopping $1500 each! Ridiculous! And she has to get four shots over the next 4 months. Thank you Canadian Health Care System. This protects her from a common cold that most kids get before the age of two. It doesn't provide her with immunity but with live antibodies that can begin to fight against the virus if it is introduced to her system. The shot might be expensive but the hospital stay that she could have if she caught RSV would definitely cost more.

Today Lauren went for another scheduled check up at the Cardiac Clinic. We were expecting improvement because yesterday when her pediatrician listened to her heart he told us that her gallop wasn't there like it used to be. There was still a murmur because the valve and ventricle have been stretched but we are still praying that over time and as she grows, her heart continues to remodel.

Lauren's cardiologist was happy because the vagal episodes, which had been a daily event, have been less frequent since cutting out one of her meds. We are so happy about that too because they are scary every time they happen!

There is a protein (BNP) that the ventricle of the heart secretes when the ventricle is stretched past normal. Right after Lauren's second surgery, the doctors did blood work on her and her BNP was over 1200. Normal is 38. This test is usually done on adults to measure heart failure so they weren't sure what the exact correlation would be in Lauren's case. After a week or so, her BNP was around 750. We were ecstatic! Last time in clinic, Lauren had her BNP tested it was around 550 but this time is was 200! Lower and lower. Once it is below 100 they are not even going to check for it anymore. 

Lauren's old ejection fraction was 25% (meaning that every time her ventricle contracts 25% of the blood is pumped out. Lower ejection fractions mean that more pumping has to be done to try to get enough blood out which is harder on the heart). There was improvement on this as well....

Old ejection fraction: 

New ejection fraction:

We're only halfway to a good ejection fraction so please keep those prayers coming! They are changing Lauren's life. Praise the Lord for every day that we have with her.