Cardiology Combo

This morning marked our annual "cardiology combo" appointment with Oliver and Violet.  Or as they like to call it, their "Jelly Chest" day.  Calvin happened to be out of school, which meant it was truly a family affair as we came walking in with all 4 kids (I'm sure the staff was thrilled to see us come through the door!  But thankfully, the kids were all very good for the long appointment.)  Here they are waiting patiently for the doctor to come in. . .

 I was appreciative that they were able to do Oliver and Violet's echos at the same time -- we were still there over 2&1/2 hours as it was.  So the girls went in with Violet and the boys went in with Oliver.  Violet was the perfect little patient, very cooperative and still the whole time.  That's what a Ring Pop and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with do for you.  We'll assume Oliver was good, too. . .

 As usual, Evelyn was a little angel as well.  This baby has been dragged to so many places in her first 3 weeks, and is always SO GOOD!

 The boys also got Ring Pops for being so good for the appointments.

 When Dr. Gelatt came in to give the report after the echos, he was quick to point out that cardiologists don't typically like to see blue lips -- Sorry 'bout that! (Daddy claims there were no other colors of Ring Pop at the store. . .)

So, the report is as follows:

1) Violet -- heart looks great!  The right-sided enlargement is still evident, but is not a long-term problem as she will grow into it.  We'll go back again next October, but if all continues to look good, we will be able to cut back to appointments only every 2 years which will be nice.

2) Oliver -- no change from previous appointments.  He still has the small PFO (hole in the upper chambers), thickened aortic base, and leaky aortic valve.  Dr. Gelatt seemed most concerned about the leaky valve, but this is just something we will continue to monitor.  He had told us a while back that Oliver would probably need a stress test when he got school-age, so I asked about this.  He said as long as Oliver is active and doesn't seem to be having any problems, we can wait until he is a bit older.

So all-in-all, a great appointment!  And we don't have to go back for another year!  And no open-heart surgery for any Dwyers this year (at least not that we know of)!  Praise the Lord!