Thursday, September 2, 2010

Lily's journey to a stronger heart - 6 : Cardiac Cath

First - Thank you to all of you that prayed for Lily today, and offered us words of encouragement and love we really appreciated it.

Lily did great she tolerated the procedure well, they only had to use her vein not artery which was great - less risk of complications especially post procedure.

So the results - the BIG question was, are her pulmonary pressures to high for her to recieve the surgery she needs? The answer was No - not a slam dunk no, but not an absolute yes (if that makes any sense). Her pulmonary pressures are not normal they are elevated (which everyone expected), but they are not so high that surgery is out of the question, they fall into a grey area.

So what now - well the cardiologists, and cardiac surgeon will look at all the information closely and then make a recommendation to us. The reality is that we will not have a concrete answer, what we hope and are praying for is that when they all look at the results they will look favourable for surgery.

We are thrilled that they weren't so high surgery was ruled out because there was some concern this could have been the case, we also felt good after talking to the cardiologist.

To make this all a little easier to understand let me try and explain simply what the pulmonary pressure is. If they do the surgery it will enable her heart to push blood out of it into her lungs, if the pulmonary pressure is to high it will stop this from happening and push the fluid back to her heart. The pressure in her heart needs to be stronger than her lungs. If we move forward with surgery there is no turning back - and there will be no guarantees on whether it will work until they do it. Without the surgery she will not survive long term.

So this is where we stand. The seriousness is very real, but we feel at peace, we have a strong sense of God being in control.

Today we are rejoicing, she is strong and a fighter. She is drinking so much more by mouth, and has gained another 8 oz. The cardiologist said everything else in her heart looked great for surgery, her vessels were a good size, and her heart was healthy.


Here is a picture of Lily sleeping when we got home she is now awake and playing like today was just like any other day. How proud I am of my sweet.


3 comments:

lisa said...

Praise the Lord for He is great. He knows His great plan and timing for Lily. May He fill you with His perfect peace as you wait for answers and for wisdom for the doctors for the plan of care for sweet Lily. May He richly bless you and your family. Love to you all.
Lisa F

Jenn said...

Praying for you Rachel. We know that God can do anything. I pray that the doctors find her pressures stable enough to go ahead with her repair and that her repair gives her a strong heart. I am so amazed at these little heart babies. They are so strong and defy all the odds they have stacked against them. We will continue to pray for you all.
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Jenn

www.ourjourneytoabbygrace07.blogspot.com

Julie said...

Praise God! It is so hard when trying to look at all things cardio and decide on surgery. I pray for wisdom for the doctors as they search for answers for Lily. I pray for growth and strength for her, comfort and peace for you.