Our cardiologist appointment went really well. Katie had an EKG, an X-ray, and an ultrasound done on her heart. Dr. Romp was very good with her and she was only a little nervous. Her heart will never be normal, but he said it looked good.
Katie has "free" pulmonary regurgitation, which the doctor said is a step up from severe. It almost looked as if she didn't have a valve there. The heart will compensate though, but cannot do so forever. The right ventricle will enlarge over time, and they do not want it to get too large. So, this means that the valve will eventually need to be fixed.
For now, we will go every year and the cardiologist will tell us when we need to start thinking about replacing it. The time line is unknown, but he said between 5 and 10 years. We're hoping that technology will advance and that open-heart surgery won't be needed by that time, but that it can be fixed in another way. She has no physical restrictions and we should not see any outward complications from the regurgitation.
As with any heart patient, there is always the chance of developing an arrhythmia. We're not going to think about that and just enjoy each day God gives us with this precious child.
God gave us the most wonderful little girl. And He took care of all the little details. We received good news from the cardiologist and from the pediatrician as well. There was a possibility of a syndrome that some heart kids have. Katie was tested for this and it was negative. Praise the Lord for His goodness and love for us!
Thank you for praying for her!
