Well, it has been a while, once again. I only blog when I have something worth blogging about, not just ramblings, well at least that is my goal. Not too much to catch up on. We started school (homeschool) a few weeks ago, using BJU Press for the first time. I am more than impressed with their curriculum, lesson plans and videos. The kids also enjoy it. Of course they would rather be playing outside, but they also love their school work.
The main reason for this post is Andrew and Averie's cardiology appointments yesterday. I had asked that everyone pray for the echo results to be the same as last time or at least not much change. Well, our prayers were answered once again! Last visit for Averie the doctor said not to be alarmed that we may be talking about scheduling her next surgery when we came back. Well, Averie looked great and does not have to go back for 9 months, which is a long time, for heart kids.(AND he never brought up surgery for her!!) Andrew has some calcification in his conduit. He said they may have to do a balloon cath within the year, but maybe not. He goes back in 6 months to check on it. He had this done at 1 year and it gave him an extra year on that conduit(that he had since 3 weeks old) before it got replaced. His aortic valve has always been leaky, and it remains mild to moderate(more on the milder side), Praise the Lord!
This cardiologist's face just lights up at the sight of Averie! I love to see it! This is what Dr. Christian Lilje said to me yesterday, "Do you remember the first time you came to meet with me and when we looked at the baby(at this time I was pregnant so it was a fetal echo, I had already been given the grim diagnosis from Andrew's original cardiologist)? Do you remember that I told you her prognosis was so poor, ZERO life expectancy? LOOK AT HER! She is amazing!!" I love that he is not too proud to admit that she is a miracle, that even he could not understand how everytime I came back, something mysteriously changed with her heart and that she grew lungs and shouldn't have been able to. Her heart had grown so distorted that her pulmonary arteries usually, in those cases where the pulmonary valve was absent along with Tetralogy of Fallot, they usually take over the lung space and the baby usually goes into heart failure during the pregnancy and if they make it to birth, it usually isn't good either because they have no lungs, so a ventilator doesn't help. I was a wreck! But God worked it all out, and I love to be reminded, not that we ever forget. I guess I just love to hear the doctor say it, too! I remember how he was smiling from ear to ear when I had done a fetal MRI at 37 weeks and we saw almost perfect lungs in Averie's little body!
Well, thanks for your many prayers for our family, we will always need them, especially around surgery times. Thanks for letting me brag on God again, it NEVER gets old!
