January 11, 2008 - It has been 3 months since the last appointment with the cardilogist. Today she needed an x-ray done. The nurse took her into another room and I stayed back and I could hear her crying, I think the whole building could. The x-ray looked good. Dr. Han also listened to her and said she still can't hear the leak yet so in April she will have another ECHO done. Her weight today is 18 lbs. 6 oz and 28 1/4" long. She is still doing her own curve. Other than that everything looks good.

April 27, 2008 - Earlier this month Christine had another appointment with the cardiologist. As I was getting her undressed for her weight she started crying. This was not going to be an easy appointment. She didn't want to be measured either, but we got it. Then came time for her oxygen level check, the nurse tired her foot and no luck with a reading then she put it on her big toe, well, that was not place to put it, Christine just screamed. I calmed her down long enough to get a reading that was steady. Then we left and headed for the exam room. This is where it was time for blood pressure, again not a good thing. Of course, it was high. Okay, now it was time for her ECHO. I brought a bottle to help some and that's all it did. I should have had a bigger one because the bottle was gone before the ECHO was done. After all that we finally got to see Dr. Han. She said the ECHO was okay but she would have liked to see more. It would have helped if Christine wasn't crying. So, she listened to her and sounded good and clear. Dr. Han is a little concerned because her oxygen level is quite a bit lower than last visit, but she says that Christine looks great. So, now she wants us to go in and see the primary doctor the following week. We went in the following week to see Christine's primary doctor. She was fine until they called us back. She had to get weighed, which again she didn't like. We go to the room and then came time for the oxygen check. Well, again the nurse put it on her big toe, which again she didn't like. We did get a reading and it was as low as at the cardiologists. So the doctor came in and listened to her and just checked her over. He said she sounded good and she looked good to him, but he also said that he is no cardiologist. So we got home and I called Dr. Han's office and left a message with the results. The nurse called back and said that Dr. Han would like us to go back and see him next month. Here we go again.

July 17, 2008 -- Happy 2nd Birthday! We are so blessed to have her still here with us. Her becoming 2 seemed so far away and now it is here. It has been a good year. She is beginning to walk, talk and feed herself. We had a birthday party for her on July 12. There was a house full of mom, dad, sister, brothers, cousins and more cousins, aunts, great aunt, uncles, grandmas and grandpa, great grandma and great grandpa. It turned out really nice. She is so into Blues Clues right now. So, we got a cake and decorations with Blues Clues on them. Finding toys with Blues Clues on them was almost impossible, as they don’t make any more toys. She had so much fun opening up presents this year. She was doing a great job until she opened the Blues Clues DVDs. After that she didn’t want to finish. It was a perfect day. As we continue to pray for our little miracle, please help us with your prayers as well.

July 22, 2008 – Today was another 3-month check up with her cardiologist. We got a call Monday afternoon from the clinic asking if we could come in an hour earlier because the doctor wanted her to have an ECHO done. Oh, my goodness, it was a good thing we left early for the appointment, it is such a mess down by Children’s Minneapolis. They are redoing the roads and the ramp. It will be nice when it is done, hopefully better in 3 months when we go back. Nurse Shannon took us back to get weighed and measured. She is 20 lbs. 4 oz and 31 ½” long. She is at 5% for her height. (yea!!) Then it was time for her oxygen level check, that didn’t go so well. We finally got a reading 85% which is good for her. Next, was her ECHO to be done. We got into the room and luckily I remembered to grab a Blues Clues movie, so he started that up and then I laid her down so he could put the stickers on and then get started. It worked for a lot of the exam, but towards the end she was getting upset, so I tried holding her. That worked for a little longer and then she really said enough is enough. We then went back to the room to wait for the doctor. Dr. Han came in and said that the ECHO looked good. Except for one thing, there is a little leak in her aorta but when she listens to her heart she can’t hear it. We have known about this since October of 2007 and it hasn’t grown which is a good thing. She didn’t have much else to say. She of course said that she looks great. No new changes and will see her in 3 months again.

July 29, 2008 – Today was an appointment with the pediatrician. She did really well today. I had to get her undressed, to get weighed and she had a hard time with that, but otherwise nothing really upset her. The weight that they got was 20 lb. .4 oz and 32” long. Her O2 stats were 84-85%, which is in her area. Everything else looked good. The doctor was really pleased with her considering everything she has been through. He was just a little concerned she isn’t talking as much as she should, and he would like her to have her hearing tested. Won’t have to see the pediatrician until she is 3, unless something comes up before that.

October 6, 2008 -- Well, here we are again another 3 months. I hope I don’t put my foot in my mouth by saying this but I think she is getting used to the appointments. She was excellent. She didn’t cry when her blood pressure was taken, or when the nurse did her oxygen level, and because of that it went a lot quicker. Dr. Han came in with a startled look on her face because she saw Christine walking and talking. She looked Christine over and said everything looked great. She still can’t hear the “leak”, which is a good thing. She didn’t make any changes to her medications. We will again see her in 3 months when again she will have an ECHO done. I sure can’t wait for that!!!!! She also mentioned that by summer she could be getting her heart cath done. ( so soon?) Thanks for checking in on us.