Hole is Closed!

Don't you like the stressed out Mom picture? You know, stressed Mom equals stressed baby :o) Anyway, Mattie was a trooper and the surgery went great.  We were able to see part of the surgery on film.  It was amazing, especially the before and after part.  We also saw the post op. echocardiogram which confirmed that the little coil they placed in the hole was in the right spot.  So there is now no more back flow of blood into the pulmonary artery.  He woke up cranky after surger, which is so unlike his usual self.  His right leg, where they went in the femoral artery, has been slow returning to normal though.  That leg is still cooler than the other and the doctor was not able to get all his pulses before they discharged us.  There was talk of them keeping Mattie overnight to give him blood thinners, but praise God the doctor thought the color in his leg and foot good enough to let us go home.  We are still watching it, but he is crawling all over the place today.  He's back to his happy self!  Thanks so much for all the prayers and concerns.

Heart Surgery....Another Piece of Mattie's Story

Well, it looks like my little guy will have to have heart surgery after all.  When he was born, and diagnosed with Down syndrome, we were told that his first echocardiogram was completely normal for his 2 day old status.  At a month old, we went for a follow-up visit with the pediatric cardiologist at UNC.  He said that Mattie had 2 small holes in his heart that were supposed to close at birth, but had not yet.  He also had a small VSD, which is a birth defect in the heart that is common for DS babies.  All the holes were small, so we were told to wait until he was over one year and at least 20 pounds to do anything about them.  They were not affecting him, so much as we could tell.  Well, praise God, 2 of the 3 holes have closed!  The VSD and PFO are completely gone, but a small PDA does still remain.  The cardiologist believes that since it has not closed by one year of age, that it will not and could adversely affect him later on in life.  To repair the hole, a procedure is done in the heart cath. lab at UNC hospital.  If all goes well, it will be an out-patient procedure. Of course, anytime you deal with the heart it is a scary thing and the doctors give you all the horrible possible things that could happen.  We are believing for the best and are so thankful that it will not be open heart surgery for our little guy.  He will have the surgery done on Wed. May 5th and we covet your prayers.  I will keep everyone updated.  Isn't this recent picture just precious?!