News About Henry

This is copied from my other blog - The Skinny Mom. I wanted to update all of our friends and family about what is going on with Henry.

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As a mom, all you want is for your children to be healthy. It is so difficult to stay strong and positive when you find out there is a problem.

Henry is now 15 months old. When he reached his first birthday, we decided to switch pediatricians. At his 12 month check-up, our new doctor said that she heard a murmur when she listened to his heart. She said that a lot of kids are born with little holes in their hearts and that they naturally close as the kids grow. She told us not to worry and that she'd just see how it sounded at his 15 month appointment. His 15 month appointment was last week, and the murmur was louder than before, so she decided that we should go see a cardiologist at Children's Hospital.

We were able to get an appointment in just a couple of days with the cardiologist. Henry had to have an ECG and Echo (ultrasound of the heart). The ECG looked normal, but the echo revealed that Henry has Mitral Stenosis with mild regurgitation. This means that the mitral valve in the left side of his heart is narrowed and not opening as wide as it should to let the right amount of blood through. The regurgitation means that some blood is being backed up - going the wrong way through the valve.

So far, Henry has had no symptoms (except for the murmur). He is growing well, eating well, and not experiencing any shortness of breath. The cardiologist said that he may grow up and just adjust to the narrowed valve. But, she also said that it may get worse or he may begin experiencing symptoms, in which case he would have to have heart surgery in order to replace his mitral valve with a mechanical valve.

This news was so surprising to me. Henry has always been so healthy. I guess I was just expecting the doctor to come in and say that he was totally normal and everything would be okay. The thought of potential heart surgery in the future is terrifying. But, I am trying to remain positive. Cory keeps saying that Henry is going to be fine - he'll grow up and be a great athlete and a lady killer - that this is just a unique quality that he'll have.
Thank God for positive husbands - otherwise I think I'd make myself crazy worrying so much.

As long as Henry doesn't develop any more symptoms, we will go back to the cardiologist in one year to do another echo and see if the condition has worsened.

Keep positive thoughts coming our way - and never take your kiddos for granted.

Emily's Surprise Visit - Again!

We love Auntie Em! Cory surprised me and flew Emily out for a few days while he was traveling for work. It was a short, but sweet, trip and we loved every minute of it! Miss you, Emily!

St. Patrick's Day Boy

He's 1/8 Irish!!

Cory's 39th Birthday

This year, I decided to throw a little surprise happy hour for Cory's 39th birthday. He thought that just the two of us were going to dinner and a movie, but when we showed up at the Uptown Tavern, about 15 of his friends were there to surprise him. I ordered a golf-themed cake and gave him a gift certificate to one of his favorite golf courses - Fossil Trace.

I think everyone had a great time. I didn't get enough pictures of everybody - I was too busy socializing! Here are a few pictures that I did get, though. Now time to start thinking about what I'll do for his big 4-0!