Hattie's January Cardiologist Appointment

Today we had a cardiologist appointment with Hattie.  I decided to start documenting this journey for her so that when she is older and has questions about her scar, I have some pictures to show her.

Dr. Shanthi said that they'll present the results from her EKG and echocardiogram in June to the board of surgeons to find out exactly when her surgery will be.  It will be after September 7 but we'll aim for before Thanksgiving.  I had a long list of questions to ask.  She is great about answering them, but she is also quick to remind me to enjoy my beautiful daughter and to let her do the worrying.  Honestly, for the most part, it is easy to be in denial about Hattie having to have open heart surgery because she doesn't act different and isn't sick, thankfully!   I don't spend each day worrying, but I do have a lot of questions.  I don't like to be surprised by circumstances that I could be prepared for, so I ask a lot of questions when we get to see Dr. Shanthi.

She said that Hattie won't be delayed developmentally and she won't need to be kept down after the surgery.  She'll be in the hospital for a week and then home from daycare for 6 weeks.  We can't pick her up under her arms, only by scooping her up to protect her rib cage from opening up.

During surgery, her heart will be stopped and a pump will pump the blood through her body while they work on it.  She said that the smaller the baby, the more blood she'll need.  So she is going to let us know when (if we are compatible) we can go donate blood for her.

They were happy with her weight gain, her breathing, her blood pressure and overall her results of her EKG and echocardiogram were what they were expecting them to be.

We start out the appointments stripping Hattie down so they can weigh and measure her.  Then the ultrasound tech, Jay, takes us in for the echocardiogram, which is essentially an ultrasound of her heart.  We've always had to hold her upper body down so she doesn't "try to help drive," but now that she's older and more wiggly, it was a much more difficult job!  At first she liked watching the screen and hearing her heartbeat, but then she tried to chew on Jay's thumb, grab the cord and she kept kicking off the table with her feet and arching her back.  She wasn't fussing, but just didn't want to lay still.

Watching her heart on the screen

 Wrapping her legs around Jay's arm

 Next, we go into the room with her nurse, Melissa.  She takes Hattie's blood pressure with a leg cuff.  Then, she puts the stickers on her chest and hooks them up for the EKG.

Trying to help Melissa put on the stickers

 Laying still for 10 seconds at a time for the EKG

 

Next, we took a break while we waited for Dr. Shanti to come in.  It was the perfect time to grab a bottle.....

 Except there was this to look at!

 So we didn't want to eat

 Dr. Shanthi talks to us first and answers our questions, then she does a check up on Hattie.

 She pulled herself up and Dr. Shanthi said, "Wow, she's strong and a fighter!"  It's a good thing, Hattie girl!  We need you to be a fighter come surgery time.