From our first appointment at the Sibley Heart Center back in May at not quite 3 months old, when we found out that Kinsley had a heart condition called a right subclavian abberant artery, we have always had a little, hidden twinge of worry in the back of our minds. Everytime she would gag or "choke" on her food, it would make us nervous. [As a reminder from a past blog posting, her right arm artery is attached in the incorrect place on her heart, and wraps behind her esophagus, slightly pushing in on it.] But as Dr. Sallie said today, "everything is getting to where it needs to go" (meaning blood, oxygen, etc) "it is just taking a different route to get there." The gagging is most likely a side effect of the acid reflux (which we will know more about at her follow-up GI appt in October), not related to her heart defect. Whew.
Philip met Kinsley and I at the Alpharetta office, and after her second round of EKG's and Echocardiograms (2 hours, and she was such a good baby the entire time!), we finally received a clean bill of health from the cardiology team. Kinsley's condition is officially "benign." We are only to come back should we see any new changes or signs emerge that could signal a problem...but they don't anticipate that happening.
As we were leaving the office, I signed the discharge papers and was asked to initial the form next to the "Next Appointment" line...and it was there that I read the best words I could have seen...not 6 months from now...not 1 year from now...but simply the words as needed. The nurse even told us "congratulations." I guess they see all kinds of cases there...we are the lucky ones. In fact, we have dear friends who have battled through the dark side of heart conditions, and our admiration for their strength in what they have been through and continue to go through is too great for words.
As we loaded Kinsley into the car, she was noticably exhausted by the day's events and was asleep before I even pulled out of the parking lot. Me, on the other hand...I was overcome with relief as I felt huge swells of tears coming on at a stoplight as I watched her sleep in the review mirror. What a precious miracle.
;) So glad all is well!
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