Will They Open My Chest?

It has been two years since Zachary's Fontan surgery and he has grown into a healthy, happy little boy.  Still, we are reminded the reality of his condition from time to time, and recently we have starting talking to Zachy about his special little heart.  This morning he had his annual cardiology checkup way too early to be up and at it, so we slipped some clothes over his sleepy head and had him buckled into his carseat by 7:15.  He snoozed soundly on our way across town, and when we got to the doctor's office I unstrapped my little dreamer and plopped him over my shoulder.  When we got in the building, he woke up, and still a little dazed he asked,

"Where are we, Mommy?"

My big boy was getting heavy, so seeing that he was now awake enough to carry his own weight, I set him down, took his little hand, and explained,

"We're going to see your heart doctor today."

"Mommy," he asked, very bravely and matter-of-factly,
"Will they open my chest?"

His question took me by surprise and cut me like a knife.  "No, sweet boy.  They won't have to open your chest today.  They're just going to take a look inside by running some tests to see how strong your heart is beating!"  But I stopped short of promising they would never have to open his chest again.

Zachy cooperated pleasantly with the doctor and nurse as they ran test after test on his special little heart.  He told them all about his new job of being a big brother, how he goes swimming, that he is going to school in the fall, and how he had a Spiderman birthday party.  He held still with a smirky smile for his EKG and helped the nurse take his blood pressure and oxygen saturations.  He picked out a movie to watch during his echocardiogram, and explained that Barney is for babies but Scooby Doo is okay, though it would be even better if they had a Jake the Pirate DVD.

And as I rubbed his little legs while the doctor poured meticulously over pictures of his quirky little heart, I couldn't help but think how far we have come and how lucky we have been.  When all was said and done, Zachy's only complaint was that the EKG stickers were too darn sticky.

Everything looks good, the doctor assured us.  No changes, no red flags.  His fenestration (the little hole that acts as a pressure valve between his heart and lungs) is still open (it closes on its own in most cases,) but no action is required because his sats are so high (measuring 94% and 96% today.)  The doctor told us to keep giving him daily aspirin, antibiotics before dental work, and reminded us that bowling or golf would be a good choice should he choose to participate in sports down the road.  And then we were done...  "See you back in a year!"

He's our little firecracker!

Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 13, 2012 at 3:53 PM

    Great update! Good news! Thank you for the update!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Did You Know?... Samuel

Image
Zachary isn't our only baby who has been intrigued with our corner cupboard.  Many of you commented about messes similar to this that your little ones have made with pantry contents: And FYI... that wasn't flour scattered all over the floor, but cornstarch!  Have you ever tried to clean spilled cornstarch?  It's not an easy job.  But back to our story... Every child of mine has gotten into this corner cupboard.  What about baby locks? you ask.  Well, it has one.  But it doesn't catch well and the boys have always been able to pry it open, anyway.  And I usually let them.  The unorganized contents of this cupboard provide for some fairly safe and lengthy entertainment, and it usually doesn't take me long to shove everything back in once the baby gets bored.  But there are some exceptions, and one day when Sammy was just shy of a year old...  Did you know... that he got into the cooking wine?! Once again I must thank my talented mothe...
Read more

Thankful for Trouble

Image
These days, Zachary is without a doubt full of trouble!  He served his first couple of time-outs this week for smacking his older brother.  He arches his back and screams until he is blue in the face when he doesn't get his way.  He still crawls up and stands on our kitchen table and countertops, and when he is sternly corrected, he reaches to hug me and says in his sweetest, buttering-up little voice, "Mama, Mama..."  He doesn't seem to learn, after flipping and falling backwards off chairs, that they're not to be danced on.  He begs to play outside with the big boys while they ride bikes up and down the sidewalk.  And he didn't care too much when one neighbor boy accidentally ran him over.  He hops in his little Cozy Coupe, pushes off, and heads straight down the driveway towards the street.  My own heart skips a beat as I scream and run after him, just as he reaches the curb.  He won't sit patiently in the shopping cart, but stands up a...
Read more

Home Sweet Home

Image
Zachary is home again, our family is reunited, and we are loving it!  Actually, I'm already getting fed up with Sammy's whining, with the bigger boys' fighting, with the mess... but it's WONDERFUL to be dealing with normal things again. Zachary is still in some pain on and off, usually as his pain meds are wearing off.  He is not quite himself; we don't see as many smiles yet and he is very clingy.  But he will get there!  Zachary is taking Tylenol and Motrin for pain, with an occasional dose of oxycodone.  He is back on diuretics (Lasix and Aldactone) to keep fluid from building around his lungs and throughout his body, easing the workload on his heart.  Over the course of the next year he will wean off his diuretics.  The only other med he is taking is aspirin, which thins the blood to prevent clotting.  He will take aspirin for the rest of his life. Zachy is very fearful and suspicious of strangers, especially young, pretty girls, who look like...
Read more