PC Appt. & Strange Sighting in the Chick Fil-A Parking Lot...
First of all, we packed Corey up this morning and took him to Hopkins for his appointment with pediatric cardiologist Dr. Brenner. First Corey's vitals were taken, and he registered an O2 saturation of 82 when moving, up to 87-88 when completely still. This is exactly where we want to be. He weighed in at 19 lbs 7 oz (go Porky Pants!), and his blood pressure was also fine. We then spoke with Dr. Brenner, who examined Corey and declared that he is doing beautifully on two scales: 1) the cardiac scale and 2) the cuteness scale. Ha ha!We discussed our concerns with feeding Corey, as we continue to feed Corey when asleep, though we have had some mild progress since we introduced Prevacid. He will take a couple of ounces at some feedings while awake now, though he continues to reject all solids. I told Dr. Brenner that we'd even given Corey a Kit Kat bar, which Corey threw on the floor, and Dr. Brenner said, "Wow - are you sure he's an American? What American doesn't like Kit Kats?" He then asked what our strategy is, and I told him that we are currently working with Dr. DeRusso (the GI specialist), with the plan to move on to the behavioral specialist, once we've ruled out anything anatomical (which we really feel we have, but we'll go for our follow up with Dr. DeRusso in December, and we'll move on from there). Ultimately, Dr. Brenner is not overly concerned with the feeding issues, since we are able to successfully feed Corey, even though it's in a difficult and odd manner. And Corey is clearly gaining weight steadily, thriving, and doing remarkably well all around. This was all wonderful to hear.
Next we spoke to Dr. Vricella's secretary, and, lucky for us, he was in between surgeries and wanted to see us. So we grabbed Corey and booked over there ASAP. We forgot the stroller, so we were carrying Corey the whole time, which he loved. He spent the transit time looking all around and flirting with all the ladies. Dr. Vricella was clearly happy to see Corey doing so well, and actually whipped out his camera to take a picture of the tiny bugger. As you all know, Corey is a ham for the camera, so he started grinning like a fool immediately. Dr. Vricella agreed with Dr. Brenner, that Corey looks fantastic. He could hardly believe that it's been 4 months since the Glenn. Unfortunately, Dr. Vricella is leaving Hopkins. :-( Before I had a chance to hurl myself from the top of the nearest building, however, he told us that he's going to DC. Phew! But he did say that Dr. Cameron, who is the chief of cardiac surgery, could do the Fontan on any of his kids any time, should it be necessary. So, now Damian and I need to weigh the pros and cons, but luckily we have a few years to make the decision (fingers crossed).
Then, on the way home, we decided to stop at Chick Fil-A to grab some lunch. While Damian was running in to get the food, who should show up at my car window but my former boss, Bill Helsel! Talk about a small world! Bill got a brief glance at my current boss, pooped out in his car seat, before we headed for home. Now the tiny guy is taking a well-deserved business nap after his big day.
I was feeling a bit apprehensive about the day, I must admit (Damian said I was fussypants this morning), but now I feel very relieved. We're not due to return to the PC until March or April. Wa hoo!