Rebekah and Dr. Susan

I'm not a terrible mother. But I am a terrible documenter. I've wanted a picture of Rebekah's caridologist for years now and still have yet to get one. You'd think that I would've managed one after 4 years. . .
Anyway, she had her cardio check-up today and we got the thumbs up to wait for a year before we have to go in again! Dr. Susan said her chest x-ray looked great, her sonogram also looked great and physically she's acting wonderfully. The only thing that worried her was increased leakage of the tricuspid valve.
But she attributed it in part to Bekah's current cold and in part to her smaller left pulmonary artery (LPA). Susan said that they may have to go in to fix the LPA eventually, but that it would be a cath lab procedure and not a full open-heart surgery. She also mentioned that when Bekah is ready for a new conduit (her's connects the heart and the pulmonary artery - it never grew) it's something that they should also be able to do in a cath lab. She said they arent' doing them at her hospital yet, but that it won't be too long before they can and will. That part is amazing to me. That could mean that Rebekah won't ever have another open-heart surgery! She would still have surgeries, but they would be much less invasive, shorter recovery time, and less pain in general. Amazing.

For the here and now, she doesn't need a surgery. I'm thrilled. She's healthy and happy. That's what counts. I'm so blessed to have this wonderful girl in my life. She talks back to me all the time, but it's a miracle that she is even here in the first place. And I'm a witness to that miracle. I hope that someday she will understand how wonderfully special she is and how much she has changed me and those around her.