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!

Truly Thankful....

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Hope everyone is enjoying time with their family this Thanksgiving.  We are having a houseful starting later today.  It is so great to be able to be home and healthy with our family rather than in the hospital.  I know, however, that as I type this, there are those families that are spending this Thanksgiving in the hospital.  We have some great friends, the Nelson family, whom we met in California, that are giving back this year and delivering meals to families whose kids are in the hospital this year at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital where we go for Reagan's heart surgeries. If  you feel like contributing to this great cause, simply click on the Nelson family above and it will lead you to their blog where you can find out more.
We are also thankful Rod is home this year for Thanksgiving.  However, know there are soldiers separated from their families this year.  Please remember to be in prayer for these soldiers and their families as well as the families spending Thanksgiving in the hospital.
As far as Reagan goes, we had a little setback in early October.  She was jumping on the trampoline with her brother one afternoon when she fractured her tibia.

Fractured tibia
She had to wear a full leg cast for the next 5 weeks until it healed.  

Thankfully, she is now out of her cast, and back to trying to keep up with her brother.  We are thankful this was a "normal" medical issue to deal with for a change.  How awesome that Reagan has been out of the hospital since May of this year.  Other than her night's stay after her heart cath in July, we have remained hospital-free to which we offer many thanks for!!
After Reagan's hospital stay back in May for a respiratory illness, we received the home vest machine to do at home with her breathing treatments.  We are praying this will be helpful in keeping her from being hospitalized this winter with any respiratory infections.  Winter always seems to be a "booger"! (pun intended :)
As we approach this Thanksgiving, we are thankful for our little miracle God gave us.  She is such an inspiration to us daily....always happy, always trying, never gives up!!  We are also thankful that we were able to be home in Temple, Tx the first five years of her life around family and friends that have supported us unconditionally along this journey.  We are saddened as we host Thanksgiving that this will be our last year to do so for awhile.  Rod will be leaving in early January to head up to Virginia and report for duty at Ft. Belvoir.  The kids and I will follow in June upon completion of the school year.  It will be a huge change for us but know God will be with us all the way.  Please pray for Rod as he will be away from his family once more until we come later in the year.  Also, for Reagan & I as we leave for Reagan's next heart cath in California on Jan 20.  We pray her arteries, especially her coronary arteries, have grown and not narrowed so that this cath will be uneventful.
I know I have used the word "thankful" many times in this post, but as it says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, "In EVERYTHING give thanks".  I am just saddened that I am using Thanksgiving as my outlet to do so, as I should do it daily!
Blessings to you & yours this Thanksgiving!!  Thanks for stopping in.