Healey 9:52

I remember when Healey was only a week old and I heard the doctor mention a heart murmur.

 

 

 

Did I hear her correctly? Was there really something possibly that seriously wrong with my perfect, brand new little baby?

 

My mind was put at ease when two different pediatricians both said it was very mild, and that they weren't majorly concerned about it. Yet, they wanted us to visit a cardiologist just to make sure. We had our consultation this week. I had done pretty well over the 7 weeks in between that first mention of it and our appointment, of putting it in the back of my mind. I focused on all her snuggles and sweet smiles and didn't focus on the possibility that something could be wrong. I was a ball of nerves going into the appointment. I just couldn't imagine what I would think or do if they said it wasn't good.

 

After waiting forever, having the nurse take Healey's blood pressure what felt like 10 times, they then hooked her up to an EKG. She was good and sweet during that, but seeing your baby hooked up to about 20 different cords was heartbreaking! A resident came and listened to her heart, and then the actual doc. They both agreed they thought it was something very minor, but wanted to do an ECHO just in case. Of course, more waiting. Having your 2 month old baby lay still for that ultrasound was rough! We tried everything... music, singing, noises, Baby Einstein video, me holding her. Finally they gave us some sugar water to put on her pacifier (since she's decided she really doesn't want the paci anymore) and we were able to get what they needed.

 

The final verdict? She has VSD, which means she has a small hole in the part of her heart that separates the ventricles. The left ventricle (I think) has more pressure, so it squirts blood into the right one and makes a noise. The doctor confirmed that Healey won't need any surgery and she will live a completely normal life! They are even hopeful that it may heal up on its own eventually. We will just make yearly visits to the cardiologist for now, but we seem to be in the clear.

 

This baby is too young to be giving me such heart attacks! I'm going to be a mess when these girls are teenagers!