Grace's appointment

I took Grace yesterday to see the cardiologist to get her murmur checked out. Jake went home with JoJo and Papa on Sunday after church and then JoJo took Jake to school Monday morning since Grace had such an early appointment at Texas Children's. I think both kids enjoyed being only children on Sunday night :) In fact, when I picked Jake up from school yesterday, he was very disappointed that JoJo wasn't there to pick him up instead. He cried all the way to the car that he wanted JoJo instead.

Back to Grace's appointment: they did an EKG and chest x-ray on Grace, and she did great! She held still, smiled, and entertained the nurses. Then, we had to wait another 45 minutes to see the doctor. Right before the resident assisting the doctor walked in, Grace started screaming. She was exhausted and had had enough of the small room we had been sitting in for so long. The resident was little taken aback and wasn't sure to do with my crying baby. Of course, it is impossible to listen to her heart when she's crying so loudly so I pulled out the only card I knew to pull and nursed her for 10 minutes to calm her down. I'm still breastfeeding once a day and it sure came in handy yesterday! The resident was a male and left to let me do that and then when he came back in, she was nice and quiet and calm. Somedays it might be easier for her just to take a pacifier or suck her thumb :)

When the resident and Dr. Altman came back in to examine Grace, she held still and they were able to get a good listen to her heart. Dr. Altman heard nothing which is great! She feels strongly (like the pediatrician) that Grace just has an innocent murmur that comes and goes. But because of the family history, she still would like her to have an echo since ASDs can be silent. We'll go back March 30th and she'll have a sedated echo (they'll give her some really strong medicine, "a baby margarita," if you will, so they can have her still for the test). Jake has only had to have one sedated echo and it was when he was 9 months old. This age is just too hard for them to lie perfectly still for 30-45 minutes.

While Dr. Altman was listening to her heart, she picked up what she called a "venus hum" in her neck and in her head while listening with the stethoscope. Grace was laying down when she heard it, and she said if it went away when she sat up then it would mean nothing. Unfortunately, she still heard it when Grace was sitting as well. This probably is very innocent too, but the doctor would like Grace to get an MRI of her head to rule out anything. Grace is developing very well and walked early and is already talking so the doctor said that just enforces even more that she's just fine. She said there is less than a 10% chance of it being anything at all. From what Ty and I read yesterday, if it is anything, it is treatable anyway. SO, we are not worrying about this! Imaging should call me today with a date for the MRI and we'll get that taken care of quickly (hopefully). I asked if she could have both tests the same day, but since the tests are in different departments, the answer is no.

Would I like to just be a "normal" mom who takes my kids to a regular pediatrician for colds and ear infections instead of strange tests down at the Med center? Yes. Was yesterday a bit overwhelming? Yes. Do I know God is in control and has continually taken care of our family? Yes. Yesterday, I was tired and feeling down about everything, but I did awake today with a fresh, renewed spirit. I thank God that he refreshes us and makes everything new each morning.