Home Sweet Home....

Just wanted to let everyone know Reagan did great Friday night following her heart cath.  She was discharged Sat. morning and we all took a much needed 5 hr. nap Sat. afternoon in the hotel room.  Sunday morning we checked out of our hotel and headed for the airport.  Reagan kept wanting to leave while Mom & I were packing up Sunday morning and I kept telling her, "Our airplane is not here yet."  To which, she kept replying "Is our airplane here YET?" about every 15 minutes.  She was definitely ready to come home!  She also kept saying, "I feel better, I got out of the hospital."

Discharge Day...Ready to GO!

She did great for the plane ride home, played with her toys for awhile then said, "I'm done" and laid down on my lap.  Here's how she spent the rest of the flight...

Since coming home, she is back to her normal self blowing and going.....

Off to therapy she goes Monday...

Off to ballet on Tuesday...

So thankful she was able to jump right back into her schedule this time without needing extra time to recover.  We are truly thankful for an easy trip!!
Speaking of trips, how about one to Virginia.  Before Rod left in early January for Virginia, I contemplated whether the kids and I should stay in Texas until the end of the school year or if Reagan were to have a good checkup in CA, move sooner.  Well, before knowing how well she'd do this time, Rod and I discussed the move and decided we should move sooner.
Reason #1:  Nolan plays baseball and last year Rod missed the season due to being in Afghanistan.  Also, Nolan was on a winning team and they played until the end of July before getting knocked out of the State Playoffs.  If we were to stay and that happened again, Rod would miss Nolan's baseball season again and that would keep us here longer, therefore keep our family apart longer.  : (
By moving early, Nolan could play baseball in VA & Dad would get to be a part of it! : )
Reason #2:  Reagan turns 5 next month which means she will be able to attend Kindergarten in the fall.  With us moving to Virginia & starting over with a new school, I would feel better about getting into their school system this year & getting a feel for it, as well as meet with the team about an IEP for Reagan.  We know she is smart and capable of the work but know she is going to need some extra help with certain things.  Her endurance we are not sure about, as far as if she can make it 7 hrs. a day at school.  Moving early would allow me to get set up with a pediatrician, cardiologist, etc. in case they need to request modified school hours for her until she can go the distance of a regular school day.  All that said, if we moved in the summer, I would be scrambling to find people at the school in order to have things set up for her BEFORE school started.
Reason #3:  Daddy is a sad, depressed little puppy without us and he has had to spend enough time away from his family.  He needs us!!
So, in conclusion, we have decided to move at our Spring Break time here in Texas which starts March 9th.  The Spring Break in Virginia is actually an Easter Break the first week of April.  By moving over our Spring Break, Nolan would start school up there for 2 weeks then get another week off.  I only think this is fair seeing that he started school in Texas in Aug. & won't finish until Jun. 19 in VA.  That deserves 2 Spring Breaks, right??
With all that said, we need your prayers for our upcoming move, adjustment for Nolan starting a new school, getting setup with all new doctors, therapists, etc. for Reagan.  It's a giant task, but I keep telling  myself, "It's hard by the yard, but a cinch by the inch."  So, each day (when time allows)  I do a little something to help get ready for the Big Day.  Today, we made a countdown chain together.  Reagan cut the strips, Nolan glued & put the chain together.

1 loop for each week....7 weeks-  Not long....it will be here before we know it!

Best Cath Ever!!!

Reagan went back to the cath lab a little after 8 this morning.  By about 10:40 I was getting word that Reagan was done and headed to recovery.  I questioned them whether she truly was done or someone was just coming out to update us as they had blocked off 4 hrs. for Reagan's cath.  Shortly after, Dr. Perry, the cardiologist who did her cath, came walking in and gave us great news!!  She truly was done and did great.  Back in July, Dr. Perry had to balloon 4 of Reagan's pulmonary arteries to her right lung.  Today 3 of the 4 looked good but one of them to her right upper lobe had re-narrowed & they had to balloon it again.  There also was an artery to her right middle lobe that they had to balloon as well.  And, the best news of all was that her coronary artery that they had to balloon last time, due to it only measuring .3mm , has stayed open and nothing further had to be done!  Praise God!!  Oh, and a double bonus is we don't have to come back for her next cath for 1 YEAR.  Overall, I am told she surprised Dr. Perry by how good she looked, which is a feat to do. 
Afterward in the recovery room, however, she was quite the handful for her mama.  She has to lay flat for 4 hrs. after a cath without bending her legs.  She was in no mood to follow those rules today and I literally felt like I was in a wrestling match with her trying to get her to stay down.  Eventually, after I was almost brought to tears, I got her somewhat calmer and distracted by eating a popsicle.  We finally were moved upstairs to a room for her overnight stay.  She is on a slight bit (1/4 L) of oxygen following the cath but we are working on getting rid of that by morning.  If the night goes well, the plan is to discharge Sat., spend the night in the hotel, and fly home Sunday.
Thank you all for your prayers.  Here are a couple of pics from this trip I wasn't able to add yesterday.

Reagan at her pre-cath appt. Thurs.

Painting at the RMH playroom with her heart friend, Callie.

Grabbing a yummy dinner from In-N-Out Burger

This morning before her heart cath

Being put to sleep in the cath lab

Post cath in her room tonight trying to eat some dinner

P.S. On a final note, while I've been gone Nolan hurt his elbow at a skating party Wed. night and it has remained swollen for two days now.  Aunt Kay took him to the pediatrician for me today and got it x-rayed.  They're not sure if it's fractured or if there's a fluid accumulation so he is being referred to an orthopedic & is in a sling until then.  Guess I'll be spending next week at the doctors with Nolan. : ( 

Pre-Cath Day

Reagan was so great today for all her procedures (echo, EKG, X-ray). Everyone could not believe how big she's gotten (although she's still a little peanut). After her appt we were able to go by & see our favorite Nurse Practitioner, Jana, in the CVICU. She was full of herself for Jana, talking her ear off & showing Jana her ballet moves. Jana said it just made her day to get to see Reagan's little personality- seeing that she usually sees her post surgery when she is in no mood. Ha! We then left the hospital & went by the Ronald McDonald House to see our friends, The Carvers. Their daughter Callie had a cath on Tuesday & they are awaiting word of whether she will have her next heart surgery  next Monday or not. Callie & Reagan played all afternoon in the RMH playroom. We concluded the evening with a trip to our favorite California eatery...In-N-Out Burger....YUM!!! It's now 9:30 & we are laying our heads on our pillows only to wake early in the morning for a 6:30am show time at the hospital. I will update tomorrow with the cath results.  We are praying for an uneventful day. Thanks to all for your prayers!  Love to all- Jen

California...here we come again!

Can't believe it's been since Thanksgiving since I updated the blog. We had a great Christmas. Reagan did run into some problems between Christmas and New Year's with nosebleeds. This time of year seems to be hard on her nose with the dry winter weather. We were referred to an ENT but he did not want to cauterize her nose vessel because it would mean sending her to the OR under anesthesia. We are now treating her nose daily with saline and bacitracin and so far have been doing good with no nosebleeds! The first week of January was a hard one for us. Rod left to go to his next duty station- Ft. Belvoir, Virginia. The kids & I miss him dearly but it is great to be able to call him everyday & talk- quite unlike Afghanistan :-) I am writing to let you all know that in the morning Reagan, my mom and I fly out to California. Reagan has her next heart cath on Friday. Because of the arteries they had to balloon back in the summer during her last cath we had to follow up in six months and it is now that time. She has a pre-cath appt in the clinic Th & then her heart cath is scheduled for 8am Friday. We are praying her arteries have grown and not narrowed and this will be an uneventful trip. If all goes as planned, she will spend Friday night in the hospital, discharge Saturday and fly back Sunday. Thank you so much to Aunt Kay who'll be manning Nolan while we're gone and for my mom going with me to help out since Rod cannot make it. Also, thanks to my friend Lori for taking Nolan part of the time as well. I am currently not feeling well so about to hit the bed & pray for a good nights sleep & better health tomorrow. Thanks to all of you for your support during this time & always!