Update on Matthew

I received a phone call around 5:00 pm from our pediatric cardiologist about Matthew's results and the recommendations from the conference that they held at 4:00. I hope this makes sense. The MRI showed the same results as the ECHO but they had a hard time deciding if Matthew should have a stent placed or not, it is kind of a borderline result. Apparently what is happening is that he is growing rapidly and the aorta is growing too but the area that was operated on is not since it is really scar tissue so it is narrower that the rest of the artery now and that is creating pressure there and overall high blood pressure. The thing is, he has a lot more growing to do so I think they are trying to decide at what point to intervene. If they put a stent in now, it may need to be dilated in the next few years. But they don't want there to be long term elevated pressure on his heart either. They do feel like that we have caught this early, I thank God for that little nudge He gives us mothers, when we know "something is not right".

So they want Matthew to have a cardiac catheterization, that is the most exact way to evaluate him and during that they can place a stent in the narrow area and decrease the pressure if it is indeed too narrow. He would need to be on aspirin for awhile to keep his blood thinned a little, but would not have to Plavix or Coumadin (that was a relief to us). We go on the 22nd to meet with the interventional cardiologist for a consult and then go from there in terms of the procedure itself.

Please pray for Matthew as he goes through all this at such a tender age. Please pray for Jeff and I as we wage our battle against fear. I am sure that I will have many more prayer requests as we travel down this road, thank you for "holding my hand"!

Love, Laura