Heart Conditions

So, yesterday I drove Calvin and Silas to Orlando to meet with Dr Ramos. We waited an hour in the waiting room before going back to see the doctor. (I loathe waiting with two boys in a waiting hour for so long...ugh). Dr Ramos was very nice and looked both boys over. He checked their oxygen levels. Normal is about 96 or higher. Silas was 84 and Calvin was 78. Yikes. I guess it just goes with the territory. Then they had the boys both do an ECHO. The lady with Calvin was really nice and they did both boys at the same time. I was with Silas and it was a bit of work to keep him calm for over 30 minutes as they did the ECHO. He did the best a 2 year old could do. Afterwards, I met with Dr Ramos for the results. He said that our timing was perfect because tomorrow (meaning today) the surgeons were going to review all the cases and determine when to do surgeries and what courses of action to pursue.

Silas should have surgery for his Tetralogy of Fallot within 1-2 months. He said they usually perform this surgery at 3 months old, so he would be a priority. Silas would be in the hospital for 7-10 days and be fully recovered after a month. He may need an additional surgery down the road - after he's an adult - to control some leaking that may occur. Silas will need to have antibiotics before any dental cleaning or surgeries to prevent an infection in his heart.

Calvin is more complicated. They want to do a heart catheter through the groin to see if the band that was put in his second surgery in Moscow is working. If the lungs aren't shot, and everything looks good, they will schedule him to have the Fontan surgery. If he has the Fontan surgery, he may be fine for the rest of his life or he may need a heart transplant as an adult. If the catheter shows that the lungs are shot, then he'll need a heart and lung transplant. Dr Ramos said that heart transplants for children are less common and that Calvin isn't sick enough to be put at the top of the list. I didn't think there was another option other than a heart transplant, so I am hopeful that the Fontan surgery will work for Calvin. Dr Ramos also said that Calvin will need to take some medication.

On Monday I will get the results from the meeting of the surgeons which took place today. I will update more then. The doctor did say that he was impressed that we would take on two serious heart conditions through adoption. I know that Calvin and Silas were meant to be in our family. And since they're supposed to be with us, then we will handle the heart conditions. That's what families do. And I know that God will bless us throughout the process. He guided us to the boys and I feel so blessed to be their mama.

A video of Silas dancing on the drive to Orlando. Isn't he a doll?