Pray for Baby Luke

I wanted to ask you all to pray for a special little boy. As of right now, he has not been born. His mommy, Kristin and I have been emailing back and forth for the past couple of months. When she first contacted me, she and her husband had just found out that their unborn baby boy, who they are naming Luke, has a special heart. Formally, he is diagnosed with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, just like Emma Kate. However, there have been some interesting changes in his development as he has gotten bigger and ready for this world. According to their blog posts, Luke's left ventricle has significantly grown larger since he was initially diagnosed and his aorta appears to be of normal size! What a miracle! Of course, once Luke is born and has an echo, the doctors will know more. I know God is working in the lives of this family and I wanted to ask you all to please keep them in your prayers as they begin this journey. I personally believe that God is a God of miracles and He has the power to heal. I also believe in the power of prayer and that He can and does intercede in our lives. No matter what His plan is for Luke, I know God can work through Luke for His glory. 

Kristin is going to be induced this morning. You can keep up with their story by visiting their blog. Thank you, friends! 

Cardiology Visit

Emma Kate had a visit with her cardiologist today. She sees him every three months and has an ECHO done every six. This visit was an ECHO visit, which means the last time she had one done she was 16 months old. I remember she cried and screamed a lot during that one, so I prepared myself to expect the same thing for today's appointment. 

Boy, was I surprised! Emma Kate did absolutely wonderful during the EKG! She helped put the "stickers" on her chest and played really sweetly with the Wiggles guitar they usually use to distract her. I'm pretty sure they got a perfectly clear reading of her heart activity. Her sats were between 87 and 89! She was weighed at 20 pounds, 1 ounce.

 

After her EKG, we had a short visit with Dr. Cardis and then it was time for her ECHO. Again, I had prepared myself for a lot of wiggling and crying. But Emma Kate was perfect! I was very pleasantly surprised! The technician commented several times about how great she was doing and how she was able to get such clear pictures. My sweet big girl!

After her ECHO was finished, Dr. Cardis took a look at the pictures and told us that every part of her heart looked great! He went into a lot of detail about each part of her unique heart and said that she is one of the best cases that he follows! That news made Brooks and I tear up a little bit. I was a little nervous before this visit, only because I'm always prepared for hard news. And knowing that she is almost two (and lots of HLHS kids have the Fontan around this age), we wanted to be mentally prepared. However, we were told that potentially she could hold off on having her Fontan done for at least one to two more years, depending on her heart function, energy level and oxygen sats! Praise the Lord! We are so thankful for this news!

At the end of our visit, Emma Kate kept saying, "Doctor. 'Point-ment. Doctor Caw-dis. See you soon. 'Morrow." Ah, she makes me smile. I love that kid and I could not be happier with how today went.

Smiles at Breakfast