Good news

Today was cardiologist day for Ralph! We had an early appointment so the morning was crazy with getting everyone dressed and off to school. We made it, barely!

I was by myself with Ralph today. Since I was carrying a purse, diaper bag, oxygen tank and a 22 pound child, I had to ask the receptionist to sign in for me! We didn't have to wait too long in the waiting room. That was good because the virtual fish tank that Ralph likes so much is actually a TV and was on CNN. I'm so sick of the news that we sat somewhere else.

First thing is to strip down for the weigh in. 22 pounds 5 ounces. Not bad, but not quite as much as I thought he would be. Next the nurses get blood pressure and O2 levels. Ralph hates this part and is always very naughty, pulling on the cuff and rolling around like an alligator. His O2 levels were only 92%...baffling to me at the time. (Later, when we got home I found a kink in the oxygen tubing.)

Then comes the EKG!! The nurse attaches many electrode stickers to his chest and then clips wires to them with alligator clips. (I can't believe I have used the word alligator twice!) Ralph has to stay very still for about 60-90 seconds to get a good reading. Ha! He uses fingers and toes and whatever to pull off wires. He rolls some more. One nurse starts to blow bubbles to get his attention, then he lunges off my lap to grab them out of the air. Another nurse begins to sing Itsy Bitsy Spider. If it sounds like a circus, then you are getting the picture. We get a good reading eventually, but I'm beat and we still have the echo to look forward to.

It seems like forever that we wait for the echo tech to come get us. I ran out of the house without grabbing any toys, so we play peek-a-boo with the dressing curtain and mirror. Our echo tech is the bees knees! The guy knows how to deal with children. He had a Sesame Street music video playing before we even got to the room. Ralph starts out sitting up with the tech reaching around him! But Ralph couldn't decide what was more interesting, the video or the echo display! So we laid him down and he watched the video like a nice boy for the rest of the test. This is the first time that he has been through an echo without downing at least one bottle. Normally it is the only way to keep him quiet and still.

We head back to the exam room and wait for the doc to review the echo and visit with us. We wait. And wait. Seemed like forever. I could easily nod off if I weren't wrestling with Ralph. The doctor comes in very upbeat and energetic and it takes me a minute for me to wake up enough to pay attention.

So...the echo looked good! His heart size is normal and his pressures are about the same as last time, 30's I think. This is higher than normal, but not scary. He said that the EKG was still abnormal. What? We never discussed this before, but apparently right heart trouble shows up on the EKG. He said that the EKG results are the last to improve. OK, I'll take this.

So we are scheduled to go back in 4 months! Wow! Don't you just love good news?