Post Op Visit

Connie saw Dr. Bromberg this morning and we are grinning from ear to ear. Dr. Bromberg was practically giddy with the improvement he sees and hears. His overall clinical presentation, his echo and parent report are all greatly improved. He can watch the echos from his office and he came in before it was even over saying, "This looks a LOT better!" He is a bit stunned at how insignificant the aortic insufficiency is now given the fact that the aortic valve wasn't touched. I told him that we believed it was God and he nodded his head as if to say that he certainly didn't have a better explanation himself! We had noticed a bit of improvement in Connie's symptoms before we left for Michigan and they confirmed in the cath lab that first Monday that his AI and LV looked "better than expected." We had been so fearful that he would be in such bad shape before the surgery that it would be nearly impossible for him to withstand such a big operation. We know in our hearts that God gave his heart a little boost right before surgery so that he would be strong enough to tolerate all they did and to recover with lightning speed! We are keeping his meds the same for now, and in a month will decrease the lasix in half. He said that he sees a day (but I'm not allowed to hold him to it) when Connie will no longer be on Enalapril (blood pressure med). The whole office seemed genuinely thrilled with our outcome. We go back in a month. He said that generally what you see six weeks post-op is pretty much what you can expect long-term, but he is very hopeful that since he's already seen so much improvement so soon (only two weeks out), that we have a great chance of Connie pretty much being a lot healthier from here on out. He thinks his growth will start to take off now and thinks that every day we'll see him getting stronger and more active. We aren't "out of the woods" yet on the atrial flutter. Time will tell on that one. He said that if he goes six months without any episodes of atrial flutter after being off the amiodarone, he'll be more inclined to relax a little about that complication. We have been thinking Connie was doing great, and now we have the tests to prove it! Thank you all for your prayers and thank you God for the blessings you have given us! We have come to always expect complications and trials and it's been so wonderful to have the outcome we hoped for, to have had a smooth experience. Dr. Bromberg said that Connie has had a pretty traumatic five months and is so excited for him to have the opportunity to finally feel good and be a "normal boy."