"So Far So Good"

This morning was our first of a lifetime of follow up appointments with the Cardiologist. We went to see Dr. King at his office, the only time we had been there previously was to meet with Dr. Iguidbashian a week or so before surgery. We were on Dr. Kings turf today, but the terms were very different. As we waited in the exam room we sat and looked at the hundreds of photos of the kids that Dr King has treated. Apparently out of affection, thanks and shear joy people send Dr. King photos of his patients throughout their lives; birthdays, graduations, senior pictures etc. It was a reminder that we are not alone and over the 25+ years that King has saved and treated thousands of children of perfect strangers, he is loved and respected for it.

Dr. King is a very regimented man, very diligent and he is serious (although we can tell there is a fun side of him), he is all business when he enters the room. After all, he is the King. He came in and started asking us questions about Hunters breathing and overall demeanor. He then listened to his lungs and heart beat, pulse in his wrists, ankles and blood pressure. All looked strong and all looked good. We then went to weigh Hunter, Megan I had guessed that if he gained the desired 1 oz per day he'd be at roughly 7lbs 5 oz's. He weighed in at a whopping 8 lbs of dynamite. Remember, Hunter is a day over 5 weeks, but he packs a punch.

We then went into all to familiar exam room with the Echo machine (ultra sound). I immediately lost my breath, I was reminded of the bad memories of the thousands of ultra sound images and attempts to diagnose the defect etc...but I gathered myself and watched the screen as King did his thing. Megan and I held Hunters arms and legs and kept him calm as the tech held the wand over his heart and upper chest. I could recognize the arch and noticed the measurements were all over 6mm, I could see the one hole that still remained...it was slightly visible when they use the color to depict the oxygenate and non-oxynated flow of blood, it all depends on pressure in the heart and the respective chambers etc...hard to understand and harder to explain, but things are going well. Dr. King was great, he was very positive and visibly pleased. The summary was that the heart function is great and that there are signs of growth in the valves that we so desperately need to grow. Dr. King said "So far so good", we will come back in 2 months to measure again. We got the clearance to carefully pick Hunter up by under his arms, lay him on his tummy, stop the Lasiks medication and travel to Sunriver (you may not think of it but the altitude in Sunriver is enough to cause pause for infant heart patients). It was a great morning and we left feeling very satisfied, lucky and blessed to keep moving farther away from where we started...Thanks Dr. King for being the best at what you do.
One amendment: today Dr. King looked at Hunter as he left the room, it was obvious that he was looking at a healthy, growing boy and he looked at us and said "there is my reward"...what a cool guy.
I find it Ironic that the top cardiac specialists in this city are named King, Star and Floaten...I have only heard of the Star and Floaten (spelling?) and I have not met them but their names are fitting.