Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Echocardiogram Concerns

So I was totally planning to get the a-okay from our pediatrician on Rhett's recovery today...you know, like a big thumbs up stating that this whole thing is behind us.  Well, unfortunately that's not what we got.  Dr. Henley had gotten Rhett's echo results from the cardiologist and there are some concerns.

Rhett's actual diagnosis on his heart is Mitral valve disorder.  Basically his mitral valve is leaking.  This valve is located between the 3rd and 4th chambers of the heart and takes the blood from the third to the fourth chamber (from what I understand).  When it goes from the third to the fourth, his is pumping some of it back into the third chamber instead of relocating it to the fourth.  Dr. H said it is not uncommon for kids to have mitral valve disorders, but 99% of the time they are classified as mild and they outgrow the problem.  Rhett's is classified as severe.

We don't know how much is leaking and how much is making it where it is supposed to go. We don't know what will fix this or what can be done to remedy the problem.  I'm not really wanting to research this right now for fear of what I might find, or what may scare me more than necessary at this point.  We will meet with a pediatric cardiologist next week to find out more about what needs to happen and what all of this means.

At the beginning of our conversation Dr. Henley thought this was unrelated to the Kawasaki disease.  He thought this was possibly a birth defect that wasn't detected until now.  Then, he checked Rhett's heart with the Stethoscope and picked up a murmur, which he never had before.  He checked the hospital records from this weekend to see his vitals and they also showed no murmur.  This led him to believe that this possibly is a result of the Kawasaki illness, but he can't conclude that for sure.  One thing is for sure, our doctor is the most thorough doctor I know, so if there had previously been a murmur, he would have caught it.  I guess when you detect a murmur you go and get and echo done to find out what is causing it.  Since we already had the echo we know the cause of the murmur.

We continue to have faith and believe that Jesus will heal our sweet boy.  Completely heal him.  He doesn't do things halfway, so I believe that Rhett will be healed.  Healing could mean several different things, but I am believing for the picture of health as an end result of whatever is in-between.  We definitely appreciate continued prayer as we walk through this next step on this journey with Rhett.

Thank you for praying!

One of our favorite new things Rhett is saying is "No-fing".  When we were in the hospital we would ask him something like, "Are you feeling okay?" or "do you want to eat?" and he would just say, "no-fing" 'Nothing' totally doesn't make sense, but he knows what he's talking about.  Last week when I would try to get him to take his medicine he would very politely say, "no thank".  It was pretty cute, especially when he would get angry from all of the asking and I would get a very agitated "NO THANK!".

Matthew 11:28-30

 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”



2 comments:

katie@tulsadetails said...

So sorry to hear your journey has to be extended. Many prayers for Rhett and you all. I am confident he will make a 100% recovery.

Unknown said...

Prayers for you all. God is mighty to save...a very present help. Praying you feel his strength, peace, and Rhett has mighty healing!