Tanner did so well at his cardiology appointment this year! Kollin got the day off, so he was able to go with us this year. The morning of his appointment he was actually excited to get going and wanted to see his "heart doctor." I had told him what was going to happen this year and we practiced for a few days. For his echo we call it the magic wand with goop on it with a camera that takes special pictures of his heart. For his EKG we call octopus time with stickers. For the blood pressure test I squeeze his arm and leg like a blood pressure cuff and make clicking sounds. He thought all of this was pretty funny and neat, so I had high hopes for the day.
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| On our way! My nerves weren't as bad as in year's past, but still there. |
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| He did SO well for his echo. He was hesitant to lay down on the table at first, but after I laid down with him he was good to go. |
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| He liked the sticker idea, but when the wires came out he got a little scared. But once they were clipped on he was fine. |
I didn't get any pictures of the blood pressure tests since I had to hold him still and coax him into getting the cuffs on. He did NOT want to do it! It's funny how that, out of all of the tests was the only one he was really scared about. The nurse said that is pretty normal though, weird, but normal.
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| Dr. Minich is so great with Tanner. We love her! |
After Dr. Minich was finished looking at all of the images, recordings and listening to him she gave us the great news that all is well! She says everything is wide open and flowing with no narrowing at all. She said the key to doing so well with his defects is to have a great surgeon and a wonderful repair at the beginning. And that is exactly what we had. So so grateful.
The best (I hope) part is that she said she doesn't want to see us again for TWO YEARS! I had to keep asking her if she was sure she really wanted to go that long between appointments. It is so great that she thinks he is doing so well that we can go that long. But also so scary to go that long. When I think about the scary part, I just remind myself that Dr. Minich said he's fine.
We will go back to annual appointments once he hits adolescence where he will be growing and developing a lot. That is the age where things can get a little dicey, so it is good to keep a close eye on everything.
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| Baymax is the prize that Tanner picked for being so brave at his appointment this year. |
It was such a great day, and wonderful report. We are so proud of our miracle boy!
