Visiting Dr. K

Three months have passed since Ayden's last cardiology appointment, meaning it was time to pay another visit to Dr. K today. As always, we did a diuretic wean a week beforehand and started the appointment off with an x-ray. Then came an ECHO, vital signs (including height and weight), and a check up from Dr. K. As always, Ayden was incredibly patient and well behaved throughout. I think he actually enjoyed the ECHO process, as he got to recline on a pillow for 30 minutes or so and just relax. He did get upset during the x-ray, but that's because the tech, ignoring my statements that it wasn't necessary, held him down during the first pose (she left him alone for the second one; some hospital employees just won't listen to parents).

It was no surprise to us that everything checked out. His lungs and heart looked good. The places where Dr. Bichell made "repairs" appear to be growing at an appropriate rate. The tricuspid valve leak continues to be very small. This adds up to us remaining on course for a cath in May and surgery in early to mid summer. (Based on today's results, there's no concern about his readiness for the Fontan. The cath results will either confirm what we are seeing or tell us we need to wait a while longer.)

Weight wise, he came in at just under 27 pounds. With a height of 33 inches, his measurements are, for the first time, average. This is incredibly reassuring to us. We made the decision a few months back to take steps to encourage him to eat. Prior to that time, the highest weight percentile he had reached was about 25%. Since he has been eating, he's worked his way up to over 50%. The results show we made the right decision.

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For a few reasons, cardiology visits are very interesting. Since he goes only every three months, he changes quite a bit in between visits. He's always doing things the office staff haven't seen him do before. Watching there reactions is a good experience. It's clear that so many of them - the cardiologists, especially - truly see him as something more than just a patient. Something else that adds to the interest factor is the high traffic rate. There are always doctors moving about, either because they are passing through the waiting area to get where they are going, or because they're working in the clinic. So, while only Dr. K "sees" him in the doctor/patient sense, many other doctors get to see him while he's there. The end result is Ayden has multiple opportunities to show off and be his little charming self.

Today was no different. Ayden ran into our favorite cardiac anesthesiologist, one of our favorite PICU fellows, our favorite resident from his stay in the NICU (who is now a cardiology fellow), and the attending who we'd be delighted to be Ayden's adult cardiologist when he gets to that point. Ayden made the most of these opportunities. He walked around, showed them where his baby brother is, blew them kisses, and waved and told them "bye."

Some of those things he'd been doing for a while. Others are more recently developed. While it is often hard to get him to perform his talents upon request, over the weekend he was being especially obliging, allowing me to catch these, and others, on video. Enjoy.