Corey's PC Appointment Today
We had some excitement this morning. Not in a good way. Corey and I went to Corey's pediatric cardiology follow-up (another post-op check-up), which Damian (and Mason) did not even attend, because we thought it would be a simple exam. Why do I never learn that things just don't work that way at Hopkins?There were two issues of concern. First, Corey's heart rhythm on EKG is abnormal. Apparently this is not anything to get my knickers in a knot over, however. It happens with post-Fontan kids, according to Dr. Brenner, and we should not be particularly concerned. Still, there's nothing quite like hearing, "Your child's sinus rhythm is not normal" to get my own heart rate up.
The second issue is that Corey's liver is enlarged. Dr. Brenner examined Corey, and he didn't intend to do an echocardiogram today, but when he found the enlarged liver, he changed his mind. I thought perhaps the liver enlargement was due to Corey's Warfarin therapy (he's been taking a large dose, as the lower doses were ineffective), but Dr. Brenner reassured me that this is not the case.
And so, the main concern was actually the pressure in Corey's right atrium. If the pressure is too high, it puts too high a load on the left ventricle, and since as we all know Corey only has one ventricle, we need to protect it. This would mean possibly giving another med (Enalapril) to decrease the load.
So we had one seriously extensive echocardiogram. We're talking three Dora episodes. In the end, Dr. Brenner was satisfied that the pressures in Corey's right atrium weren't too high, the load on his left ventricle is not too much, the function of said ventricle is very good, and Corey is fine, sans Enalapril. Phew! My knees were a little rubbery at this point.
After all that fun, Corey had a finger stick to check his INR. His Warfarin therapy has been tricky. The goal range is 2.0 - 2.5, but Corey was as low as 1.1, to 1.2, to 1.3, then to 1.9 at last check. (When the numbers are too low, he is at risk for stroke.) We were surprised and happy to see him hit 2.5 today, which also means we don't need to have another blood draw for three weeks. Good news!
On the way out the door, we bought some gummy worms (and coffee for mommy) and headed home. We'll go to the mall this afternoon and shoot for some normalcy, but I must say, I was impressed with how well my little man handled himself. The echo tech told us that some kids kick and scream the whole way through the echo, because they are tired of people poking at them. Corey is in the other camp - he just hangs out and watches the show, and tries to talk the tech's ear off. That's my sweet little tough guy.