Cardio Check

*wrote most of this 11/30, but never posted.*

Andi had a follow-up appointment with her cardiologist today.  An echo cardiogram showed that Andi's doing well.  She still has a bit of leakage out the right and left side, but the one on the right will be helpful to him to determine the pressure on that right side.  After the heart surgery, the pressure on that right side was the reason to put the Bean on viagra (a.k.a. sildenifil).  He wants to do a sedated echo in four months, to reevalate if she's ready to get off viagra yet.  We are, however, weening her off lasix - (the diuretic) which she should be off in the next four weeks.  I was hoping for more, but, it's better than no change or worse, adding more dope.  He expects that leak on the right side to close on it's own, and will continue to monitor the left side, both are apparently minimal.

We got to catch-up with a few peeps that we know up at the hospital, including our favorite nurse.  Pretty cool to see them as visitors, rather than patients. They were happy to see Andi so big and doing well.  YEA! 

Andi's teething is starting to drive us nuts.  I don't know why, but the teething tantrums start in the middle of the night, every hour on the hour - or so it seems.  Sometimes it's every half-hour.  We got some baby ora-gel, but it didn't seem to do diddley squat, maybe even piss her off a bit more.  Her anger ball is a full body objection, with karate kicks, pelvic lunges and at three in the morning, totally groggy - that's pretty scary to try and hold onto that...especially having her feeding tube attached. I joked to her pediatrician, when asking for other suggestions, that I knew that whiskey and viagra didn't mix...  he wrote back and said a piece of cold celery to knaw on... hmmm... interesting.  He was pleased with our cardio-report as well, and is happy that her issues are normal baby things like teething.  He also agreed with me that we can stop the prilosec, which I admitted that I have not been giving her in awhile. Yippie. Down to four med's... soon to be three.  YIPPIE!

Today, we have an OT coming to the house, as well as her audiologist.  The OT will come and "play" with Andi and get her working on fine-tuning her motor skills.  The PT said the OT will likely help me work on the neck correction -- to strengthen and stretch that one side.  Haven't had much opportunity to work on feeding... but the appointments are starting to really taper off now.  Now, it's more just therapy appointments and infrequent follow-up's.  I still email her pediatrician, just to bug him and let him know we're thinking about him.  HAHHAA...