Hannah's Update...

Hello All!

First, let me say, thank you to everyone for being so supportive over the last...ummm...well, it seems like FOREVER!!! Knowing that we have so many prayers and positive thoughts being sent our way really makes a big difference to all of us!

So, yesterday, we met with Hannah's Cardiologist, Dr. Fruitman. She said that there were no areas of immediate concern on Hannah's Echo. We asked about surgery, and if she thought it would be soon, and she said that she really wants Hannah to gain more weight. Right now she is 11.5 kg, and they want her to be a solid 15 kg...yikes...that's like 8 more pounds!!! I guess we'll be making even more trips to Tim Hortons!!

We then turned to the issue at hand...Hannah's breathing. From what they can tell, Hannah's body is trying to make itself more "normal". when she had her Glenn done in September 2007, it closed off blood flow to her lower body. That is what her final operation will do...reopen the path, so there is actual blood flow, and not just passive pressure pushing things around (so, for those of you who asked if there was any way she would be able to skip the last operation, the answer is no...it is 100% necessary). With that said, her body has started to create vessels around the site of her Glenn, that are allowing good and bad blood to mix. Think of it as a water dam, and there is so much pressure on the dam that small holes begin to form. Because the blood is mixing, it is making activity tough sometimes for her...and hence she is having breathing issues and needs to slow down. So, the next step is to have a Cardiac Catheter done. This is when they go in with a camera and take actual photos of what is going on inside her heart and the surrounding area. If they see that the vessels, called Collaterals (sp?), are really the problem, then they will coil them off at the same time. Thankfully, this means that she shouldn't need any additional procedures done...they should be able to do it all during the cath.

As for scheduling, they are waiting to get her blood work back to see just how mixed her blood has become. This will determine how soon they need to coil off the vessels. As of right now, they have cleared us to fly home for Christmas and they are going to try to work around our trip home for the cath. The crappy part is that we will have to go to Edmonton for the procedure...yuck! Oh well...we couldn't get out of things that easily!!!

So, that's all of the news on this end. Hannah was an angel during the entire visit...including the two-hour wait to see the doctor, the blood work, and the examination.

Thank you again for all of your support, and please do not hesitate to ask any questions...we're all in this together!!! (Wow...isn't that a line from HSM?? My niece Abby would be so proud of me!!!)

Cheers!

Sharon