Update

OK, to make up for all the pictures I have NOT taken lately, I thought I would post a few to document our last few days.



They have a sense of humor in the cath lab. You never know what you're going to find afterward...

When they did the cath, they went in both sides --- the left and the right groin. This is one of the 2 pressure dressings that Zach had on his catheter sites (along with a strategically placed washcloth). You can see the smiley face there as well as the time that the dressing was placed, to let recovery know how long to keep him laying flat. The tape is very thick and very sticky. Zach did great when we removed the first one and hollered like a banshee when we removed this one. I have written about the extreme trauma caused by Band-Aid removal around our house... he will need therapy later in life, I'm sure!

There has been an awful lot of this going on these past few days!

Cheeeeeesy grin!

You can see how he is holding his right arm. He is using it very little. 

  

Bill took Zach to the pediatrician today and he agreed that Zach is definitely in some pain. He sent him down to x-ray and they did about 8 or 9 films! It wasn't long before the nurse called back to say that they did not see anything at all. So, what now???

I just got off the phone with our wonderful cardiologist, Dr. Raunikar. He said that it is possible that the position they had Zach in for the 3 hour cath may be the cause of his pain. (I guess I can relate it to the jaw pain I recently had after a 2 hour root canal. Ow!!!) When we put our bodies in positions they aren't used to, we feel it!

Silly boy --- even when he is in pain!

So, we are to give Tylenol for a couple of days and use a warm compress and see how he does. If he is not better then we will make a cardiology appointment for later this week.

These Cardiac Kids... always keeping us on our toes!

Cardiology checkup

Zach's cardiology appointment went well today... except for the part about holding him down to remove... you guessed it --- THE BANDAID!!! The good news is that Dr. Raunikar said that we do not need to keep a bandaid on it anymore. Hallelujah!!!

He weighs 30.3 lbs, is 37.5 inches tall, good bp, good pulse ox at 90-92, EKG and echo looked good. He left him on the same doses of aspirin and enalipril and reduced his lasix to one time a day (Yay!!!). The poor kid gets a lot of exercise running back and forth to the potty after taking that lasix!

The doctor said he can start preschool when school starts but he cannot climb on the outdoor play equipment. I will have to check to see if they can accomodate him in that way. The other issue is that he is still on the fat-free diet until the end of the month, so we will have to provide all his food. You can imagine that this "hovering heart mom" is having a hard time with trusting that someone else will protect him from collisions, climbing, and fat-laden food. I also have to compile a list of symptoms for the preschool staff to look for in order to educate them about his condition. Fortunately, he will be at a preschool about 2 minutes away from my school.

Rebecca will be trying out for volleyball at her school next week. She loves the sport and is pretty good at it, so we are hopeful that she will make the team.

Speaking of school, I can't believe its almost here!!! I have been in my first-year-teacher class this week and will be officially starting next week. I am feeling overwhelmed and anxious but I am really excited to begin this new adventure! We welcome your prayers as we make these adjustments within our family.

Stuck...

Remember this?



Well, that's the problem. The Band-aid's stuck on Zach.

How is it possible that open heart surgery is a piece of cake compared to changing the bandages on Zach's chest tube incisions? Do you know how hard it is to hold down a screaming 4-year-old --- without hurting him, mind you (I mean we are only 2 weeks post-op) --- and peel off a little-bitty Band-aid? And can it possibly hurt that bad?!!

OK, now I feel a little better. Please share your experiences with this and what to do about it.