Logan's appointment with the St. Louis surgeon went great. He and the Columbia cardiologist both describe him as a "normal kid." He should be off the diuretic before long, and then he'll only be on one medicine, apparently entirely unrelated to his heart condition, and we're hoping he'll be off that one eventually as well. While the doctors have said that for several months he may be behind developmentally, he shows few signs of it, other than being on the small side: he can roll on his side, track with his eyes, smile. Remarkable for being in the hospital, often unconscious and almost always restrained, for about seven weeks of his three-month existence.
It's difficult to believe that we've reached this point after so many terrible days. If someone had told me on the evening of April 26 that we'd have Logan home and healthy with a very much normal functioning heart, I never would have believed it.
The doctors several times described the arterial switch as a “curative procedure.” Now, I'm a perpetual worrier, so I'm not about to take Logan's health--or anyone else's--for granted anytime soon. But it’s actually conceivable that he might not experience any further health problems related to his heart, leaving this blog—happily—without a raison d'etre.
I’m also trying to work on the Irate Savant novel, something that isn’t easy to do with a full time job and two little kids.
But I’m extremely aware of just how fortunate my family is just for Logan to have come this far. It’s an odd experience to go very quickly from the despair of “Why us?” to suddenly feeling incredibly lucky that Logan’s heart developed the way it did and other events conspired to allow him to have the surgery when he did (and there’s much more to that than I’ve indicated before, which I think best to refrain from discussing). As we could plainly see, many, many children with CHD are not candidates for the arterial switch, and many of those face difficulties throughout their lives, if they even make it.
I don’t want to forget that, or the people I’ve met on this blog who have faced similar struggles. So I’m going to keep the blog going—perhaps, if circumstances continue to allow, spending more time writing about other subjects, but always keeping a focus on congenital heart disease.
In the short term, I may post infrequently and instead concentrate on enjoying these two little guys and working in some Savant writing where I can. I’ve imposed some artificial deadlines on myself, and I’ve got to get cracking. (I may just have to start up another "fictional" blog sometime, too; I miss it that much. Up to you to find it.) But feel free to drop me a line.
4 comments:
How wonderful, that your little guy is a "normal kid". What a blessing!
That's great news. I think we've all breathed a collective sigh of relief. It's perpetually amazing that these tiny babies are so fragile yet so resilient. Before you know it, he'll be playing rough & tumble games with his big brother, and this crazy spring and summer will seem a distant memory.
May God's blessings always be abundant in your life.
I've contemplated resurrecting the Savant, pds, but I've always wondered if part of the appeal was the just-what-the-hell-is-this factor. I'm actually working on a post about that, and would appreciate feedback when it's up.
I'm glad to hear Logan's more or less normal now. I can't imagine what a relief that must be, even though you'll still look over your shoulder now and then. You and Shannon both have brown eyes, right? The white hair should look striking and attractive.
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