Day whatever update

This has been a day with extreme swings. After we received this morning's news, a new echo was ordered, as well as a chest x-ray. The echo was performed by the technician, and then Dr. Duffy, a cardiologist who specializes in reading echo cardiograms stopped by to do her own version of the echo. We later learned that the echo was quite good, and showed that as far as they can tell, there is little in the way of blood leaking from the tricuspid valve. The main leakage appears to be the hole she has between both chambers, known as ASD (atrial septal defect). Every baby is born with this hole, and in normal babies it closes over time. A cardiac baby's hole doesn't close, because the pulmonary pressure is greater than the heart's ability to pump blood, thus causing the leakage. At least that is my lay person's understanding.

The x-ray was also very good, showing a normal sized heart and liver. If there is substantial leakage by the tricuspid valve, the blood in the heart causes the heart to expand, which then backs up to the liver and causes the liver to expand. So again, more good news.

One consideration is that Erin ate like a little pig yesterday, consuming 110 and 120 cc's in separate feedings. One theory is that she has too much fluid, causing her heart to work harder than it should. As a result, she has been restricted to 65 cc's at feedings today. To make up for the caloric intake, her milk is being fortified. In her milk, she has the fortifiers, the viagra, the medicine to make her heart pump stronger, and finally a medicine to decrease her blood pressure. Sounds like quite a cocktail. Speaking of cocktails, I definitely need one after this day. But I digress.

As we sit her, her oxygen sats have been hitting over 90 a fair amount of the time, even hitting 99 on two occasions. I immediately lobbied for automatic discharge based on a 99 reading, but I was overruled. Who gave these doctors so much authority? I am beginning to suspect they are on commission.

Erin has been pretty happy all day, and awake a fair amount. Right now, she is sleeping face down on Sheila's chest, a new position that we have just discovered makes her very happy. And what makes her happy makes me happy. I wonder how much money that sentiment is going to cost me over the years?