THAT'S ONE DRUNK BABY

On Tuesday, Lauren went back to the hospital for her heart check up. Like every other time, she had to be sedated with a drug that makes her drowsy and uncoordinated. It is pretty much like she is really drunk. It is cute because when she's under the influence, she looks at me and gives me such a smile of love that it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. She will gently reach up and pat her hands on my face with that dopey love smile on her face and I use the time to steal lots of kisses and cuddles.

During her echo we laid together on the exam table and watched Dino Dan. She did really well until the meds started to wear off. At that point she gets frustrated because she wants to do everything herself but when she tries to walk, she struggles to stay vertical, much less being able to walk in a straight line.

After her Echo, EKG and pacemaker scan, the doctors called us in for the report. I love that her cardiologist started the appointment with, "I'm not going to beat around the bush, everything is looking really good." That was so nice to hear. Until that moment, you are trying to remain calm, but really you're sitting on pins and needles.

So the news was 92% good and 8% cautionary tale. 92% good because Lauren's heart is pumping blood like a normal heart would, her heart rate has slowed as it has recovered, her pacemaker leads and battery both look good, and her meds are doing a good job. They took her off of her aspirin and all of the other drugs are going to stay at their current levels so that as she grows she will be naturally weaned off of them.

The 8% is still the aorta. Lauren's aorta is shaped like an hourglass where she had her first repair. Her heart muscle is thickening because it is having to work harder than it should to push blood past the point that is narrowing. We were told that this will go one of two ways. Either it will relax and widen as she grows or it will not and then it will be more serious. Right now, her heart is able to function well even though it is dealing with that. I am going to be praying my heart out (pun not intended) that her aorta relaxes and widens so that her heart can continue without any other intervention. God has given us so many miracles in how her heart has recovered and is now functioning and this is the one last piece of the puzzle. I know that it is 100% possible. Please join me in this prayer and continue to keep Lauren lifted up. I can't wait for the day that I get to write that her heart looks totally normal with no issues or concerns.

The day after Lauren's appointment, I gave her her morning meds but she didn't get her aspirin as per her new regimen. She kept looking at me with one finger held up which is her sign for "one more" because she knew that she should take one more medicine still. She only accepted it once I showed her the empty pill splitter box and said, "All done." Yep, all done.

Nine more months until our next appointment. So much will happen in those nine months and I pray that one of them would be the final step in Lauren's miraculous healing. God is so good.

When Lauren woke up from her nap, she was feeling much better and I helped her along with some popcorn (a recent favourite). It was hard to tell but I think she liked it.

(On a side note, I also arranged for Baby Number 2, who has been kicking me like crazy for the past few weeks, to have a heart Echo done when he or she is born since ALCAPA can only be detected after birth, not in utero. Dr. Duncan said that it would be like getting struck with lightning twice to have two kids with this condition but I know that I will sleep better at night - in limited, short, newborn baby stretches - knowing that Baby Number 2 doesn't have a hidden heart issue.)