Happy Heart

Alexis had her follow-up appointment with the cardiologist yesterday. As much as Alexis loves to roll over and wiggle and dance, I was a bit curious as to how she would do, sitting still on the table while the doctor looked at her heart.

I was also nervous. Nervous that they might find...something. Right after she was born they thought the heart defects were really small and the VSD wasn't. So I always wonder if there could be something there that they missed before. And even after the surgery was complete, they told me that there was still a small hole. They were hoping it would clear itself up, but it's a hole nonetheless.

So we drove down to St. Vincent for a 2 p.m. appointment. All the preliminary things were fine: weight, oxygen levels, etc. Dr. Kumar came in and was pleased with how great she looked, how she isn't on any meds, is eating well. Dr. Kumar is a very kind, very soft-spoken man. And Alexis seemed very intrigued. She just stared at him as though she recognized him, but couldn't quite place where she knew him from.

When Dr. Kumar took us to the other room for the ultrasound and I laid her on the table, I waited for Lexi to start squirming, especially when the doctor put on the gel and started the scan. But Alexis lay there, motionless, just staring at him as though he was telling her the most riveting story she'd ever heard. She would occasionally glance over at me and then look back at him. And Dr. Kumar never said a word.

Until we were finished. He said that her heart looked great. There was no longer a hole there (he said the hole might have been a space between two stitches) and he had no concerns. And then he told us the best news ever:

"We don't need to see Alexis anymore."

What???? Seriously????

"We would only need to see her if there was a concern."

And I think that if there was any kind of "concern" I would just go to the pediatrician and they could send us to the cardiologist if necessary.

So that's it. Cross another doctor off the list. Thank you Dr. Kumar. Thank you to the heart surgeon Dr. Abraham.

Thank you. With all our heart.