Next Appointment: Maren's next appointment is January 3, 2011, to discuss the positive MRI results with her cardiologist.
Its been a long, long time since Maren last saw the cardiologists at Rady Children's Hospital. Over six months have passed, and Maren has blossomed from a wobbly little baby to a full-fledged toddler. She talks, she pouts, she plays, she sings, and she has a mind of her own. Every day is a blessing.
On December 8, 2010, Maren visited Rady's for a very important MRI of her heart. Incredibly, this is the first time for Maren to receive an MRI, which provides the most detailed picture of her heart available. In sum, the doctors must determine whether Maren's heart is best suited to a 1, 1.5 or 2 ventricle plan. The MRI is key to this assesment and the timing for any surgery. Recall, her current coronary circulation is dependent, in part, on a tiny stent that connects her red blood with her blue blood. Ultimately, this connection/stent will be closed - either naturally as tissue occludes the stent or by the affirmative actions of the doctors. Further, even if her heart performs well at the time this connection is closed, as she grows, it is likely she will need some type of surgery because, among other potential complications: (1) her right ventricle will still be too small to keep up with her growth; (2) she does not have a functioning pulmonary valve, which is needed to regulate the flow of blue blood from the heart to the lungs; and (3) she has a small hole in her heart that connects her right atrium with her left atrium. The result we hope for is that the only surgeries in her future will be for her pulmonary valve and for the small hole in her heart, and that these will be far down the road.
The MRI required Mare Bear, as we call her, to go under general anesthesia, so that she would stay perfectly still in the MRI tube. We arrived at 7 am. We cannot say enough about the incredible new surgical center at Rady's and the amazing staff. Although there were delays, which we have learned to expect in any hospital setting, the people and the facilities were wonderful. Of course, the actual MRI machine used for Maren is not with Rady, but is with neighboring Sharp Hospital. Through a partnership with Sharp, Rady and Sharp use the same machine. So we had to do some extra traveling, as Maren checked in with Rady, traveled over to Sharp, and once she completed the MRI, she was wheeled back through the hospital to Rady to be extubated and recovery.
So, check in took us until around 10:30 before the anesthesiologist was putting Maren under as we held her hand. She had gotten quite upset around 10:00 a.m. and had balled her little eyes out wondering why we were starving her. It turned out to be worthwhile, as the test came off without a hitch and by 2 pm, we were on our way home.
After the MRI, we did not get to see Maren's doctor. We did get to speak with another cardiologist in her group who said the results were very positive and we should wait to speak with Maren's cardiologist, Dr. El Said. We eventually got an appointment scheduled for January 3, 2011, at which we will talk in more detail about the MRI results. Also, the oxygen level in her blood is now up at least three points from last June, from 90-91, to a range of 93-94. Hopefully, we will find out what this all means in the near term in January.
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