Wednesday morning Sarah and I went to the heart specialist in Zurich. Papa took Alexandra to preschool on the bus, and then worked from home the rest of the day. That was nice.
It was a very rainy morning, and our pants got soaked walking from the parking spot on the street, up to the children’s hospital. We probably could have parked much closer, but I saw that spot and didn’t want to pass it up. What if there weren’t any others? Parking at that place is at a premium, and I didn’t want to waste time driving around aimlessly looking for something better. Also, I was a tad lost and knew that if I continued any further, I might completely lose my bearings! 🙂
Anyway, we made it there without drowning or melting away, and were even on time. Shock of all shocks! They were able to see us pretty quickly for the EKG, which was completely normal. Also her oxygen saturation in the blood was at 99 out of 100. Excellent. So far, this visit is looking pretty much unnecessary.
Then we went back and waited for the second doctor to do the ultrasound. Sarah had her Harry Potter book with her, and I had my crochet. But I was still suffering from the after effects of bad salsa, so wasn’t really able to concentrate on making a cute flower. Instead, I mostly tried to not toss my cookies and stay awake! (I had been up literally all night, sick.) It wasn’t long before we were called back a second time, though, so it wasn’t so bad.
This exam took much longer. The doctor was smearing gel all over Sarah’s chest, pushing here, poking there. She had to lie on her side, but lean back at the same time, and then hold still for a really long time. All through the exam Sarah never complained once. She just held my hand, or gazed at the wall, and did whatever the doctor needed her to. She can be feisty and stubborn at home, but she is an excellent patient for outsiders. I am so proud of her. I don’t think I would have held up quite so well.
After much clicking and calculating and funny wooshing noises from the machine the doctor gave us her final diagnosis; the hole in Sarah’s heart appears to be repairing itself! I know! So awesome and amazing! Apparently there is some sort of thick tissue that has grown over part of the hole. She showed me a picture of it on the monitor. It’s like a little round half circle between the hole and the valve. It effectively cuts the hole size down by half, making it now a microscopic 1-2 millimeters wide. Hardly any blood at all is passing through the chambers. So, so, so relieved!
In fact, everything looks so good, they don’t need to see her for another 3 THREE, yes, 3 years!!!! That is very fantastic news indeed.