Terribly Poetic

Well today was abit of a whirlwind. We decided to take Libby with us to Norah’s appointment with the cardiologist. The problem was relying alittle too much on Libby waking us up in the morning. Therefore, when Libby slept in till 9:30am and we had an appointment at the hospital at 10am we were abit rushed out the door. Somehow we got two kids ready, gave Norah some meds, got a bottle ready, and out the door to the hospital and through admitting in 35mins!

Norah’s checkup revealed much the same as it has always been. There hasn’t been any change in the hole in Norah’s heart and for the first time the cardiologist told us that it would require surgery. The nurses and other health professionals had been hinting towards surgery for quite awhile, but the cardiologist had still been hesitant to say those words until he was sure. This was the first time the cardiologist didn’t increase her meds, but this is because she is at the highest dose that they would give her. We have been told that they will most likely do surgery when she is 4-6months old, which would be sometime after February. However, she is still having trouble gaining weight. This is the area they are most concerned with. So we have increased the formula we mix in her bottles in an effort to add more calories. We will monitor her weight gain over the holidays and if things don’t progress like they should, then we will have no choice but to use a feeding tube. Please pray that Norah can gain weight without having to use a feeding tube. We are desperate to do whatever we can to avoid this. They have also said that if her weight gain becomes a bigger issue that they will also have to think about pushing up the surgery.

We have been blessed with great care from the staff at the Pediatric Cardiology department at RUH. They are actually connected in a network of other departments like theirs from all across Western Canada. They meet weekly via video conference to discuss cases before they get to surgery. This next week, Norah will become part of that discussion. So now we have not just one expert cardiologist but a whole group from around Canada talking about Norah. This group is who will ultimately recommend when Norah gets surgery. We are so thankful for these people and the skills God has blessed them with.

So we will go into the holidays knowing she will get surgery and doing everything we can to get her to gain weight. All the pumping, feeding, and medications with a long stretch between now and Jan 4, when our next appointment with the cardiologist will be, could add up to a stressful Christmas. We are thankful that we where able to purchase a very nice electric pump which has made all this quite abit easier. Through all of this we know that God has everything under control. Despite everything we can say that we have peace. While it has been hard and will continue to try on us, we know who is in control. We also are very thankful to all our friends and family for your prayers. Until next time.