Medical update

On Tuesday, we had a full day of medical visits. Daddy started out the day with a trip to the dentist and we're happy to report no cavities! But enough of that ape. At noon, we all headed to Children's for a cardiology checkup, Synagis shots, and a visit with the girls surgeon, Dr. Richard Jonas.
The cardio checkup went really well. Both girls are gaining weight, have good vital signs, are breathing normally, and are in general, doing quite well. They both have enlarged livers, which indicates they are retaining water due to their heart condition. Their livers are larger than last time, but not anything to be really concerned about at this point. Because their doing so well, we don't need to use medication like diuretics or heart strengtheners! Hopefully, we'll make it to surgery time without any drugs.
The girls had a complete Echo Cardiogram workup, which takes about 45-60 minutes per kid. This is to give Dr. Jonas an updated look at their hearts so he knows what to expect when he operates. We didn't learn anything new during the Echo, but it's really interesting to see the heart in action and see what is wrong. We can't wait to see what a normal, repaired heart looks like!
After the Echo, we sat down with Dr. Jonas to discuss the procedure, risks, and practical matters.
He is a nice, confident Australian man in about his 50s. Not cocky, but has a definite air of confidence. He has quite the reputation at the hospital, that's for sure. Anyway, the surgery goes something like this:
We start the ordeal on March 7th with blood work at the hospital to cross match blood supplies for the surgery. We will be using a mixture of blood from anonymous donors and you, if you care to donate and are the right blood type. Our girls are O+, so if you are too, maybe you'd like to give them a little of yourself? If you are interested, let us know and we'll tell you how to help (you