No Change = Good News

Today's cardiology specialist appointment was not newsworthy.  The echo showed no change in the last 10 days. Matthew has a type of cardiomyopothy called left ventricle hypertrophy (LVH) which means that his left ventricle is thicker than it should be. Matthew also still has bradycardia, which means that his heart rate is low.  

The smartest guy in the room with the letters after his name pretty much told us that he doesn't know what is going on.  Matthew has stumped the doctors.  The doctors don't know if this is permanent or will get better or get worse. They don't know what has caused this or how to treat it.  Meds typically used for the LVH make heart rate lower and are hard on the kidneys, so they are not something we want to use on Matthew at this point in time.  They have no idea what Matthew's prognosis might be.  All of it is just wait and see.   

Matthew is currently wearing a halter to record his heart activity for the next 24 hours and we'll get the results in a few weeks.  Then we'll have a follow up appointment in 2 months for another echo. Just wait and see.

In our un-medical opinions, Darren and I are speculating that all of this is related to the PDA.  The PDA was causing the heart to work much harder than it should have been for a very long time.  We speculate and hope.  If it is from the PDA, it wouldn't worsen or become dire.  The only question would be if the thickening was permanent or temporary.  Even if permanent, it wouldn't be bad as long as it doesn't get worse.

The cardiologist did sign off on future surgeries.  It's a bit frustrating, as the Nov 1 cranialfacial/neurosurgery was already canceled but we suspect it might be good for Matthew to have a few more weeks of recovery from the PDA before undergoing the craniosynostosis surgery. It was not reassuring to hear the cardiologist say "we'll just want to let them know to be ready to shock him just in case".  Hmmm..not reassuring at all but as Darren said, that could happen to anyone in the worst case scenario. 

So, we spent another 4 hours in the TCH cardiology department and came out knowing pretty much the same things we did going in, which isn't a lot.  But we believe that the echo 'no change' is good news and will celebrate that and be thankful!  Thank you for all of the prayers and well wishes for our sweet baby Matthew!