Emotionally Spent

With all that is going on in our world, the last thing we wanted to hear today was bad news. Well, this morning at Zoe's cardiology appointment, we received a rather unpleasant report. Zoe's ECHO revealed that her heart function has decreased, mildly. Not sure the "mild" decrease makes me feel any better. Her cardiologist cannot say for certain why the decrease in function, but that it's clearly discernible when compared to her last ECHO in Philadelphia. It could be that her heart is overloaded from the first surgery and after her second surgery, the heart will offload and function will resume as normal. It also could be that her muscle function is compromised, meaning the Glenn will not improve the function and she will need a heart transplant. There are a few other possibilities in between, but an ECHO will not reveal the cause, just the result. A heart cath may be informative, but with Zoe's clot and track record, a catheterization, at this time, is not worth the risk. So, we wait and see...

I ask for prayers, prayers and more prayers that Zoe's decreased function is not an indicator of muscle function and can be reversed with the Glenn, or better yet, by her next ECHO which is scheduled for July 14th.

A medication called Captopril can be used to assist in increasing heart function, however, Zoe's blood pressure sits on the lower side of normal (as does nearly all females in our family) and since Captopril can lower BP, he does not want to risk further complications - particularly given that it is a 3 day holiday weekend if some emergent situation were to arise. A call and email have been placed to our cardiologist in Philadelphia to relay the information and prepare a game plan.

As we sit currently, Zoe will likely have her Glenn surgery closer to the 3 month mark, the early side of the surgery range, particularly given the latest ECHO results.

Mommy's head hurts from stress and emotion - as does Daddy's.

Also, please continue to keep Caleb's mom, Jackie, in your prayers. She is now in a skilled nursing facility, but struggles daily with dementia. Today when Caleb visited her she was confused, didn't know where she was, and was generally out of it. Just over a month ago she lived independently, drove, and visited us while in Phildelphia. Today, her body has left her unable to do any of those things. Doctors can't say for sure, but because these symptoms have been present for the past month or so, it's likely that this will be a struggle for the remainder of her life. Please pray that Jackie can recover as much ability to independently function as possible. She will probably never live alone again, but we hope that her quality of life can significantly improve.

Please keep the Lihns in your thoughts and prayers.

Thank you,
Stacey