Cardiology Appointments 6, 7, AND 8

Finally an update...

Madison continues to do well and puts us in awe everyday. Her accomplishments amaze me! She amazes me!

In regards to her Cardiology appointments, visit #6 didn't go so well. BUT, luckily visit #7 and #8 made up for it. During Madison's visit #6, she lost some weight. Sitting very happily on the scale, Miss Madison weighed in at 17 lbs. 4 oz. Seeing her numbers pop up on the scale, I immediately gasp out loud. The tech said, "what? Is that good, or bad?" I simply picked Maddie up from the scale and asked if we could weigh her again. I was so bummed. I didn't realize just how excited and relieved I had become over her finally reaching 18 lbs. Had she really lost a whole pound in two days? Yes. Not only had she lost a pound, but her blood pressure was high, and Dr. Everitt wasn't loving the sight of fluid around her heart.

The fluid around her heart caught me off guard as well. I assumed the fluid was gone, or at least something that we didn't need to worry about. ggrrr! But, Dr. Everitt explained that she has always had a little bit a fluid lingering around her heart. She was hoping that it would be gone by now, but it's not. She's just going to watch it and treat it as we go. And she would like us to meet with the dietician at our next visit. Dr. Everitt also increased her Enalapril (blood pressure med.) and her lasix (used to eliminate water in the body).

I continued to be an emotional mess for the entire day. I was bummed, worried, and wondering why I was still playing the "Heart Failure Game.." Madison has a brand new, perfect heart. I didn't understand.

Appointments # 7 and #8 helped me to understand that although Madison does have a new heart and it is perfect; she still has a heart condition. Just a different kind of heart condition. She will always see a cardiologist and she will always be on a lot of medication (I knew that), but for other reasons than treatment of heart failure. Dr. Everitt explained that at this time, Maddie is very dependent on her medication. She probably outgrew her Enalapril dosage, which caused her weight loss and blood pressure increase.

So.. once again, I'm happy to announce that at appointment #7, Madison weighed 18 lbs. 3 oz. And at appointment #8, she weighed 18 lbs. 6 oz. We met with the dietician and she is not worried about Madison at all. She did encourage us to continue adding extra fat to her food until she becomes very chunky. And I feel much better. As for the fluid, it's still there. It hasn't changed, so we are just watching it.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. We (I) appreciate them so much.

Goodnight.