Hi Friends! We have had a whirlwind last couple weeks as we have walked through some recent sadnesses (our miscarriage) while also celebrating a joyful week last week as Ainsley graduated from Kindergarten, Collins wrapped up her first year of preschool and we enjoyed a beautiful three days during our town’s annual Tulip Festival. It was busy and crazy, capped off by a visit this month to Truett’s cardiologist for his one-year follow up.
When we first got moved to yearly visits last year, I was both excited AND a little nervous that we would be going so long between follow ups But over time, I found myself thinking less and less about Truett’s heart. While it’s certainly still a big thing we will need to continue to monitor his entire life, it’s also not something that (thankfully) impacts his day to day life and for that we are so grateful
Now that Truett has had his aorta repaired, they will continue to watch his repair site as Truett grows Essentially they “cut out” the bad part of his aorta and sewed the two ends together. So, as Truett grows (especially during these little years when he is growing rapidly) they want to make sure his aorta repair site grows with him. They will look for “renarrowing” of the site. If, for some reason, it did renarrow they would likely stretch it back out with a balloon catheter procedure. But so far, so good. Our cardiologist said his repair continues to look beautiful and Truett was the recipient of some beautiful surgical work. Praise!
Truett also has what is called a bicuspid aortic valve. Aortic valves are one way values that allow blood to flow through the aorta. They should have three cusps or flaps and Truett’s valve is divided into two instead of three parts. So far, it’s functioning well and isn’t “leaky” but they will continue to monitor him throughout his life to keep an eye on the valve. He will likely need a procedure sometime in adulthood to replace the valve so we will continue to monitor him throughout his life to check for any changes. Otherwise, he has been given the “all clear” to live a normal childhood without restrictions, which again, we are so thankful for.
We will head back to the cardiologist in another year!
Thanks, as always, for celebrating Truett’s wins and our joys as we marvel at his sweet life.
Madison