Cath update and a small soap box

Helllllooooo,

The cath, etc, went better than expected! We were the first cath of the day and they were able to get Dax back quicker than I expected, since Vandy seems to have their own (verrry slow) clock they go by for procedures. After they had him sedated and intubated they placed the ear tubes with no problems, then the cath also went off without a hitch. The cardiologist was pleasantly surprised at Dax's pulmonary pressures; his right lung pressure is normal, and the left lung is high normal. Layman's terms= pulmonary hypertension is controlled and not a big issue right now. The ASD (hole in the heart) is actually two holes, one big one and one small one, and the doctor feels relatively certain the small one will close on its own, and the bigger one might, too. There is moderate shunting of blood through the hole, but it also is not a major issue at this point in time. The plan had been to use the cath line to block the holes off to see how it affected the pulmonary hypertension, but they felt the risk of causing damage to the hole was greater than what they would gain from it, since everything looks so good right now.

The plan, then, is to do nothing. They won't make any changes right now, and probably won't unless Dax gets worse or something major happens. They will keep him on the meds he is on now, and will increase them as he gets bigger, since, as the doc said, "if it ain't broke don't fix it." (I think a more appropriate line in this case might be "If it ain't fixed, don't broked it even more!") What they need is for Dax to keep growing bigger, healthier lungs, which will take care of the pulmonary hypertension, and as time passes wait to see if the holes close themselves. If the holes do need to be closed, it can be done fairly easily once Dax is a little bigger and stronger.

As for the hearing test, I say, What hearing test? Apparently the person who was to complete it forgot to pencil us in and the ABR did not occur. That was the least of my worries, and now that he has the tubes he can get a regular hearing test anyway. No biggie.

At any rate, we spent a while in recovery but he was already extubated before I was able to see him. He stayed sedated for a while but once he was completely out from under it, you'd have never known he's had anything done. He' such a trooper! He played and ate and showered me with these smiles of complete love and adoration that make my heart melt, even with all the drool and gold teeth.

It was pretty hard to see him all wired up again... He had on 5 heart probes, a pulse ox, an IV, a blood pressure cuff, and his oxygen... So much I didn't like picking him up and moving with him because I was scared I would pull something off... But Daxton didn't seem to notice... He crawled 100 laps around his bed, tried to climb over the rails, and explored without the slightest notice to how many stickers he ripped off or many alarms he sounded while he played :) Not that you could hear them over his trusty piano, which he played almost nonstop, that you could hear allllllll the way down the hospital halls. Bet all the nurses went home singing BINGO and pulling their hair out!

All in all it was a very good visit and went really well. We spent the night in the locked-down unit for immuno-suppressed kiddos, like those with cancer or just following a transplant, and that alleviated a lot of my fears of having Dax around a lot of contagious kids. It's very hard on the heart to see all the super-sick kids though. (I'll have to spend some time one day writing out my thoughts on God's role in sick and dying kids. One day, maybe, if I ever figure it out.) At any rate, I'm so thankful for a son I can take home and play with.

So, we finally discharged Thursday and killed some time waiting for my OB appointment. All's well with me and Mr. Ty. I am having some contractions that I can't feel, but unless my cervix starts shortening it's normal and nothing to worry about. And right now, my cervix is AWESOME :P It could be Miss August in a cervical pin-up calendar. How's that for dinner conversation?

So we're home now and Dax is fantastic, with just a little residual soreness in his groin area where they entered for the cath. (Seems like every time we admit to Vandy they end up cutting him near his boy parts?! Is that just something they do for fun?) He's lying on the floor now playing with his toys, including the fancy new piano we found that looks almost like his old one, except it plays less annoying songs :) More importantly, he loves it, but the fact that I haven't heard BINGO in over 10 minutes... That's priceless!!!

As far as milestones, Dax is continuing to improve the fluidity of his commando crawl and his thumb breaks, though ever-present, are shorter now. He's trying reaaaaally hard to pull up, and would probably be successful if he understood the laws of physics and gravity, etc, which he proves he does not over and over again :) Thank goodness for diapered baby booties! He has two bottom teeth now, both gold, and is working on pushing through a top one. We have jokingly started referring to him as "10 Cent" since he has a built-in "grill,"and if the dentist won't cap them one day, maybe he will at least embed some rhinestones and dollar bill signs to give him more street cred. :)

So I guess I'm off for the night. Thanks for all the prayers this week, and please continue to pray for all the sick babies out there... Also continue to remember Miss Payton as they wean her off meds and try to get her stable enough for a g-tube. Please also pray for Drayke's family, as his family struggles through what should have been his first birthday. Please also pray for friends Laura and Tiffany... Laura is almost officially full-term with little Conner after having two 1-lb preemies in the past (YAY!!!) and Tiffany finds herself unexpectedly 1-month pregnant after just only less than a month ago struggling with the one-year anniversary of her son Samuel's short life after being born at 24-weeks. (Tiffany has had multiple surgeries over the past year to correct physical issues that could impede her ability to carry a baby full-term, but the doctors remain skeptical at this time. Please send up lots and lots of prayers in her behalf for a long, healthy, wonderful pregnancy, and a big, fat, healthy baby!) Also please pray for another pregnant friend, that she has a long uneventful pregnancy and a beautiful baby with everything intact!

Which reminds me of a small soap box, if I may. I'm 25 weeks now, and will be 26 weeks on Monday. I'm bigger and fatter and pregnant-er than I have ever been and am ridiculously happy about it. I flash my blindingly-white, billboard of a belly (ad space, anyone?) at anyone who will look, and, in a weird way, enjoy the aches and pains and gas and incontinence and hunger and hormonal-ness and weepiness and dry-mouth and everything else that comes along with pregnancy, because I've seen the other side of it. I love it because it's me that's uncomfortable and not this wiggling little bladder-squisher that's very happily and comfortably doing aerobics in my womb right now. It continuously amazes me to hear other mothers-to-be, or those who were pregnant before, continuously complain about the discomfort they had to go through, and how ready they are to "get that thing out of me." I'm constantly being told lately how "Ooooh you'll be pregnant in the summer. That's terrible!" Noooo, what would be more terrible would be being NOT PREGNANT in the summer. Trust me, I did it last year, and it sucked.

The moral of the story. Pregnant women: Quitcherbitchin. Enjoy being pregnant. Be happy that you have a perfect little monster inside you stealing your energy and giving you acne and stretch marks. Trust me when I say a few months of being uncomfortable is worth it. Ask any mother who wasn't given that chance!

And, that being said, I'm going to pee now. Thanks for listening.

Love you all! Have a good weekend!