"My Heart Happy"

Owen's way of telling us he needs pain meds is by saying "my heart happy" (no meds), or "my heart hurts"(give me Motrin). After our cardiology appointment today.. my heart is a happy one.

For the first time since surgery.. Owen decided to stand up on his own... on the scale at the doctor's office. What a big boy! He weighed in at 31.9lbs and 38 1/2" tall. His sats were in the mid 70's on 1.5liters of oxygen.. no surprise.. but yikes.

Owen's echo was speedy fast because he was just not having it. I grabbed the echo tech's coffee cup for him to puke in (sorry about that) and we got the pictures we needed in record time.

While waiting for Dr Stock, I got a call from the nurse at Kamryn's school, and she was sick. She stayed home yesterday because she was sniffly with a mild fever, but was fine this morning. I have to give a BIG shoutout to Larissa (my sis-in-law) for swinging by the school and picking her up for me. I called the peds office and they were booked up til' Thursday but were going to squeeze her in for a strep test at 2. It's only viral and she's acting fine tonight. Thank goodness! I think she needed some more chillin' out time at home. It's so fun to have her home, so no complaints here!

Back to cardiology..

Dr Stock came in and said everything looks great. Owen's Tricuspid valve has a mild stenosis with a mild regurge. This means there is some backup in the right atrium, but SO much better than it was. His heart function has a mild decrease, but Dr Stock said he might even call it "normal" function. Music to this momma's ears. There is still a long road ahead as we allow his body time to heal before we start the process of surgery number 4, the Fontan.

After picking up Kamryn, we came home just in time for Physical Therapy. Jessica worked some magic and Owen was up and moving. He was pulling to a stand and walked a little bit. This is huge! He was such a new walker going into surgery and hasn't wanted to do any weight bearing in his legs since surgery. Again.. my heart is happy!

Owen continues to puke all the time. It has to be so painful to have your sternum ache each time you puke. I wish I could just take it all away. The worst part is that he is so used to it... like it's "normal" to him. He was puking in a cup while jamming out to Black Eyed Peas on his iPad tonight. He says 'all done' and goes about his business, with bloodshot eyes and an empty tummy. I am starting him on prevacid again to help with the burn.

On a much more exciting note....

The wish granters from Make-A-Wish are coming out tomorrow night!!! I'll be videotaping him as he makes his wish and we are all in for a big surprise!

Playing Doctor

We had another relaxing weekend at home. The weather could not be more perfect in the desert and we are definitely enjoying our last few weeks before spring. I ran a few errands while Carson watched the kids and let me just tell you, the stores sounded like a symphony of coughs. I won't be taking Owen out in public places for at least a few more weeks!

Tonight we had my family over to celebrate my sister's 33rd birthday. You can tell that Owen is feeling better because my family room looks like a tornado ran through it. Toys. Everywhere. Gigi got out the doctor kit and wanted to give everyone a full checkup. Then Owen turned the tables on her. It was so cute to watch him play doctor because he's just starting to really get into imaginative play. Unfortunately, doctor play is the one that he feels most comfortable with since it has been such an everyday part of his life.

First he took Gigi's blood pressure.

I love the look on his face here. He looks like a concerned nurse as he holds the cuff and pumps it up. Classic.
We have a bunch of stethoscopes laying around our house and he knows just what to do with them. He was listening to Gigi's heart and makes the "whosh.. whosh.. whosh.." sound that he hears on the echo machine.

Then onto his favorite part of the visit. He couldn't wait to give Gi her shot! She acted the part of the patient perfectly and Owen broke down in giggles.
I'm pretty sure we have a future doctor in training. He is definitely getting an early start in the medical profession. Some kids start out with little league, acting classes, or dance classes... Owen is getting a crash course is all things medicine.

Speaking of medicine. We have a busy morning at Cardiology on Tuesday, including another echo. I'm anxious to see how is ticker is doing (almost 3 weeks) post op.

Post Op Day 14

I am amazed that just two weeks ago, Owen had open heart surgery. It's incredible how quickly he is recovering. He is feeling a little better each day and last night he put weight on his legs a couple times. That was pretty huge for him.

On day 4 post op, the nurses and attendings said they like to see the post op patients up and walking around. It was a punch to the gut. Owen wanted to do nothing more than sit up in bed for 15 minutes here and there. I had to quickly remind myself that this is Owen we are talking about. Mister laid back who rarely is on the move. I explained to the docs that he just started walking three weeks prior to surgery and how I wished that he had the energy to get up and walk around. So when Owen wanted to pull to a stand last night, even for a few seconds, I was thrilled!!

Owen has been a bit emotional lately. I know it's perfectly normal for post op patients to have changes in behaviors and so I am just taking it as it comes. Little things will set him off and his eyes fill up with tears. It's heartbreaking.

Another thing he's dealing with is not sleeping soundly. He talks in his sleep "no ouchies".. "leave e alone".. "mooovvveee over"... and he tosses and turns a lot. I wish I could tap into those dreams and sprinkle them with happiness.

I know that these things are normal and they will get better.. just in time for his next surgery. Ugh. I know it could be so much worse and we are grateful that it's not. He's doing great considering what he has been through.

Puking has been another small obstacle along the recovery path. Owen is still not tolerating his full feeds and when I go up (ever so slightly) he pukes. I called GI to make an appointment but they can't get me in until May. I'm not kidding. Owen's pediatrician sent a script for Prevacid to help with the reflux and said to stay away from her office because it is not pretty right now.

We are looking forward to a great weekend with lots of rain and a little sunshine. We'll hit up Redbox in a bit and maybe work on some Easter crafts!