Good News Friday

Cole and I made our way downtown again to Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute on Friday the 15th. It was a weird feeling to travel 77 to 277 to the exit you would get off to go to CMC Main or Levine and not begoing to Levine's this time, but it was such a great reminder that we have come a long way in a short time and our sweet blonde headed boy was in his carseat with me and not in the hospital for surgery or visiting or living at the hospital with Cole.

When we went to check in I didn't know if Cole would freak out just seeing doctors and nurses after the way he felt a couple of weeks ago, but he was as calm as could be and was showing off his cool Buzz Lightyear shirt to the staff! Auntie K found one that looks like the top of the Buzz costume so Cole has barely let me take it off to wash it.

So he hopped right on the scale with no sudden outbursts of high pitch screaming. He even allowed them to measure his height.

We moved on to our little room to have oxygen levels checked and blood pressure checked before Dr. Bensky, Cole's cardiologist, came in.

Even on a good day with no surgeries just having been done does Cole ever let them do oxygen levels and blood pressure without protesting.
He sat there quiet and even tried to give them a hand and assist them with it all. He was so cooperative, such a little gentleman:)

Dr. Bensky has always been one of Cole's favorite doctors, but lately no one in the medical field could be trusted from Cole's point of view, but Cole was quiet and still while they checked him.

Dr. Bensky said "everything sounds good and strong." Sometimes these single ventrical heart babies can have weak valves. He said Cole looks good and is healing well! We, along with you all have prayed since before Cole was born that even though he was given this special heart that it would be strong and healthy andthat he would be healthy and strong. We used to be confused because we assumed heart defects automatically meant a weak heart, but the best way to describe Cole's heart is, his is strong it's just the plumbing is very screwed up and missing some parts.

We even got to get rid of one whole medicine all together, Aldactone. We only have to take one tablet of baby aspirin a day now and no more 3 times a day for the Lasix, just two, and twice a day for enalapril. The Lasix won't be forever either, but is a must for a while after any surgery.

I felt like I walked out of there walking on air. I was so happy for Cole and for us as a family to get such good news!

Oh yeah, and Cole's oxygen level was 90!......90! We have never seen those numbers before! It's so good to see Cole being active and not running out of air and having to stop what he's doing to recover .

We are in the home stretch of recovery now! The breast bone is healing up and Cole's immune system will be getting stronger now that it's not fighting so hard to repair itself.

We are really looking forward to this year during the holidays not having to be quarantined from October to some time between April and May for the first time in almost 3 years! It means Ava doesn't have to be pulled out of everything either! It means freedom!

It is an absolute miracle already, and one of our biggest prayers answered, because none of us has even had a cold! That all by itself is a miracle because you know these little ones are petri dishes for all kinds of colds and viruses!

Thank you to everyone who is keeping up with us still! I apologize getting some of these updates to you all so late. Your support deserves better.

Our next visit is October 27th to follow up with Dr. Watts, Cole's surgeon and then we don't go back until December and then they will do a heart eco to see how flow is doing and just check out Cole's special heart to make sure all is working well and strong!

We'll get more pictures up soon!