Tuesday, February 24, 2009

enough already...

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I swear it's just one thing after another with my little man. At his well check a few weeks ago, the doctor detected a heart murmur. He assured me that this was fairly common, and that I had no need to worry; but he did refer us to a pediatric cardiologist just to check him over. We had our appointment yesterday. This is the one and only (really bad) picture that I got of him during his EKG. Doesn't that just look sad to you? It made me sad, but maybe it's just because I'm his mom. I just have a really hard time with babies and any kind of wires, or tubes, or surgeries, or health problems. They're so young and have no comprehension as to what's happening to them. It just doesn't seem fair to me.
It was really hard for this little guy to hold still (that's why I'm feeding him a bottle) so that they could get his blood pressure from both his arm and leg, and then proceed with the electrocardiogram. After the test, the nurse practitioner came in and listened him over. She couldn't hear anything unusual, but called for the cardiologist for a second opinion before sending us on our way. After he listened to Asher's heart, he expressed some concern. Yes, he had also detected the murmur, which he referred to as a PPS murmur (peripheral pulmonary stenosis), an innocent neonatal murmur, fairly common in babies from birth to 3-6 months. His reason for concern was that Asher is already 6 months, and should have grown out of this type of murmur by this stage. The doctor proceeded to tell us that a hole in the heart or valves can oftentimes mimic this type of murmur. He wanted us to came back for an echocardiogram - ultrasound of the heart. Thankfully, the nurse practitioner noticed that the technician had a lull in patients, and arranged for us to squeeze right in. I was especially thankful for the opening, not only because of the inconvenience it would be to have to come back another day, but also because of the toll it would have played on my nerves...more than a day or two would have been too long to wait...to find out if there was something wrong with my baby.
After the (very long, and very extensive) ultrasound, the nurse practitioner informed me that the preliminary reading looked normal, but that the Cardiologist still needed to look it over. If he found anything abnormal, he'd be giving us a call.
I'm grateful that it's been a day and 1/2, and we haven't received a call from him. In this case, I consider no news to be good news. I just still feel so bad for my little Asher, who in his short 6 months, has been to the doctor more than...well...more times than I can even account for. I'd like to see if we can make it to his next well check (3 weeks away), without needing to be seen for something else in between...if we succeed, we will have made a new record. Wish us luck.

12 comments:

nevedobson said...

we are definitely wishing you guys luck.

i totally understand how you feel seeing him go through pain and discomfort. i can't bear seeing my emmi sick or scared.

i wish we could take away any of those feelings.

sarahtuckett said...

Oh Nicole, that picture is so scary looking. It is so awful when they are so little and you feel so helpless as a mother. He is such a trooper and has been through so much! What a brave little guy and evenen braver mom! I love you so much. You are such an inspiration to me.

Amy Eagleston said...

Poor little guy. I really hope this is the last of the unexpected hospital visits for this little guy.

Ethel Carola Aredes said...

ahy amiga se que en estos momentos te esaras sintiendo un poquito desesperada por la salud de tu pequeño recuerda amiga que todo tiene un proposito y trata de descubrir que es lo que tienes que aprender vos con estas pruebas
y estoy segura que estas feas experiencias que tiene que pasar tu pequeño es porque de seguro sera un hombre fuerte tanto su cuerpo como su caracter
al igual que vos amiga hay pruebas que nos toca pasar que no entendemos oeri estan alli para ayudarnos a foratalecer nuestras debilidades
te amo mucho amiga estare orando por tu pequeño y por ti para que puedas tener las fuerzas necesaria para sobrellevar todo
amiga lo que ayudo a mi a fortalecerme es el discurso del Elder Joseph Wirthlin venga lo que venga disfrutalo espero que a ti te pueda ayudar como me ayudo a mi

Sarah said...

That is sad to see him like that. That would be hard to go through. I hope he gets over all these things that have been causing the problems. Poor little guy, and poor you. Hope things get better soon.

The Heaps said...

Poor sweet little thing! He will be in our prayers!

Danielle said...

Poor little guy! I'll be praying for you guys, as always. You're handling this much better than I would - I'm such a worrywart, especially when it comes to my loved one's well-being.

Rachel said...

Poor little Asher! and poor mom! Hope everything is ok with him. He is so sweet!

Melanie said...

Poor monkey! He's so cute. I used to do EEG's -- different organ, but just as many, if not more wires! I always felt so bad putting the wires on babies' heads, they always cried, I think partly because they couldn't see what I was doing. I'm glad he's OK!

diana said...

no news is good news, always.

maybe asher is getting all these medical issues all out of the way now, and will be nothing but healthy later in life!

Brooke said...

Poor, sweet little guy!

We're keeping our fingers crossed!

Amber and Dallas said...

I was asking John about this on Sunday. He said that (like you said) no news is good news. I need to call you and get the latest update on what the Dr's have said. Brenner had this as a new born...but I guess grew out of it (like you mentioned)?? Anyhow... I will be thinkin about you little one... yes.. you hold the record for the most Dr's visits in the first six months of life. I am so sorry! Hoping that this will be healed and over with soon! =) He is soooooo sweet!