Cardiology Appointment

Anna Grace had a cardiology appointment today.  It went very, very well.  Better than I expected actually. Normally I medicate Anna Grace for her echos so that she is a little more relaxed and will cooperate a little easier since she gets so scared and anxious and cries and cries and cries..  However, recently she has really started wanting to do EVERYTHING that her big brother does.  So, for today's appoinhtment instead of medicating her I decided to allow her big brother to help.  After talking with Zachary about my plan, he was excited to help his little sister be brave and after getting approval from Dr. R today I put my plan to the test.

The plan?  Have Zachary go first.  Simple plan really although I wasn't sure if it would work for a cardiology visit.  But it worked terrificly!!!!  So, Zachary was a good sport and had his weight, height, blood pressure and O2 sats checked.  Then it was Anna Grace's turn.  No problem after watching Zachary go first.  Then it was time for the echo.  Zachary jumped up on the table, took off his shirt and laid down.  He was fascinated that he could see his heart on the screen.  I was quite fascinated too since I have never seen a four chamber heart on echo before!  Then it was Anna Grace's turn.  She was a little nervous about this and wanted me to lay on the table with her in my lap holding her.  Once I hopped up there she laid back on my chest, took the sucker that was offered to her and kicked back and quietly watch some Dora.  Amazing!  I NEVER thought the day would come. 

Then after we were shown to our room and Dr. R came in Anna Grace actually talked with him and willing lifted her shirt up for him to have a listen to her heart.  I think Dr. R and I were both stunned.  After all, Anna Grace has a reputation of being one of his most difficult patients!

I know that so many of you were praying for Anna Grace this morning and I am so thankful that the Lord gave her peace and comfort. I am so very thankful and PRAISE GOD for this blessing.  As a Mom, it is so very hard to hold your child down crying and screaming and saying "no", "no" all the while you're putting on a smile and saying, "it's OK" but really you just want to weep for your child.  To not have to do that this morning was huge.  So very huge.  Truly an answered prayer and I am so thankful that so many of you have so faithfully prayed for our family and for Anna Grace since the beginning of our journey.  Please know that I am truly, truly humbled and grateful.

As for the results of everything...... her O2 sats are hovering right about 80, this is actually a really good number for Anna Grace so I was pleased.  Her blood pressure was fine and her heart function looked good.  Her medication stayed the same and as things stand right now surgery is still scheduled for August 10.  AG currently does not have another cardiology appointment scheduled before surgery, although Dr. R asked me to call him next week so we could talk.

The unopened MUSC envelope is still sitting on my desk.... maybe I'll open it next week!  Overall, I have to say that today was a pretty fantastic day.

I took some pictures while we were at cardiology today and I'll try to get them posted later this week.  Thanks friends for continuing to follow our story :)

A Day At The Lake

We spent Saturday at the lake with Mee-Mee and Grandpop.  Here are a few pictures of our very fun and memorable day!

We started our adventure by putting on our swim suits and then Anna Grace played us a little tune on her guitar. She's quite talented!

Then we headed straight down to the lake for some fishing.  No one caught anything but it was a beautiful day for a boat ride!

While we were all playing, Grandpop was busy making lunch in his outdoor kitchen.   Fried chicken and vegetable kabobs.  Yum!

See what I mean.  Looks delicious doesn't it????

When the boys heard it was time to eat they couldn't get back fast enough!

Time for a little dip in the hot tub before heading in for an afternoon nap.  Well, the hot tub had already been drained, but Mee-Mee kindly added a little water for the kids to play in.

Afte nap time Mee-Mee and Anna Grace headed to the garden for some blueberry picking.  Yummy!

Summer fun!!!!

The Envelope From MUSC

About 3 weeks ago I received THE envelope from MUSC.  You know, the one that contains all the info we need to know to prepare for surgery and all the logisitical info we need as far as when to be there, where we should go, etc.  I haven't opened it yet.  Three weeks it has been sitting on my desk and I haven't opened it yet.  I can't say I know why except that I'm just not ready for the reality of it quite yet.  So there sits the unopened envelope on my desk. 

In addition to the unopened envelope these last three weeks we have enjoyed some crazy summer fun.  Instead of focusing on the specifics of what is inside THE envelope, we have been to the mountains of Tennessee to Pigeon Forge and the surrounding areas.  We discovered there that Zachary has a SERIOUS love of putt-putt golf! 

We have also spent a LONG weekend at Mee-mee and Grandpop's lake house where the kids swam, swam, swam, went tubing and we even did a little skiing (pictures to follow).  We also enjoyed a super fun fish fry, caught some turtles and Zachary ALMOST ate a minnow thanks to Granpop's encouragement.  Almost, but I stayed his hand at the last moment!  (Whew!!!!) 

We have also joined a local pool where the kids have been swimming like fish.  Anna Grace still wears a life jacket, but she loves the pool and kicking her feet.  Zachary of course is honing his skills of diving and flipping underwater.  Both the kids are working on a nice dark tan :)

Zachary has had a case of swimmer's ear so we have stayed out of the water this week, but we will be back at it starting next week!  We are also planning a week long trip to the beach in June.  The kids are SO excited and so am I.  We are planning on doing the same pirate ship cruise we did there 3 years ago.  The Sae Dragon.... how exciting!

We started homeschooling about 3 weeks ago and have settled into a nice little routine of school in the morning - then hitting hte pool for a couple hours, then nap time for AG.  It is working out very nicely.  Zachary is not super excited about doing school, but once he gets in the school room and gets started he does just fine.  It is actually working out better than I thought it would logistically.  I am very thankful that we made the decision to homeschool this year.

I am hoping to get some pictures up here soon of all our adventures and to open the unopened envelope..... we'll see which happens first!

Please begin praying for Anna Grace as we prepare for this next surgery - as things stand now it is still scheduled for August 10.  Thank you friends for continuing to follow our story!