Tangent: I was surprised and impressed to hear back from her so quickly, considering that this is a non-emergent procedure. I was also impressed that the other cardiologist we've spoken with, the cardiac MRI specialist who was present for her MRI on Tuesday, came to speak with me not once, but twice, while I was at the hospital with Amelia, to discuss what they saw and to answer any questions. I know these doctors are busy people, so it's nice that they've been as responsive and concerned as they have been.
Anyway, the phone call. Amelia's cardiologists at MGH had consulted with some cardiologists at Children's and the cardiac surgeon who will be performing the surgery (who is also at Children's), and all agreed that she is a great candidate for surgical repair, so she was calling to schedule the surgery. We had two dates to choose between: January 7th (with a pre-op evaluation on December 17th) or Feburary 4th (with a pre-op evaluation on January 7th). Neither date is compromised by Amelia's tonsillectomy (which is scheduled for a week from today...), since a four-week recovery period is all that is necessary. At the pre-op evaluation, we'll get to review the images and talk to the surgeon and the anesthesiologist. Also, Amelia will have to undergo some bloodwork. (Given her hysterics-inducing fear of needles, that should be "fun.") I told the cardiologist that we would discuss the dates and get back to her.
After some back and forth over the dates – Better that she doesn't go back to school after Christmas to decrease the likelihood of catching a cold? Better to go with the February date so that part of her recovery time coincides with school vacation week? – we decided to go with the later date, to give Amelia's little body some extra time to recover in between surgeries. (Apologies in advance to my mom, who is already flying to New York for Christmas, and will likely end up flying back to Colorado in January and then back to Boston in February to help us out.)
So Amelia is scheduled to undergo heart surgery on February 4th.
As I mentioned, the surgeon is at Children's, but the surgery will take place at MGH. Apparently MGH does a lot of consulting with Children's, and so I'm not sure if this is per their normal course of business, or if this is because I was put in touch with the chair of the cardiology department at Children's through a very well-connected partner at my firm. In any case, I am glad that she'll have a surgeon from the #1 ranked pediatric heart program in the country. Can't do better than that, right?
Having a concrete date is at once a source of peace and a source of anxiety. I am glad that we have the surgery calendared and that this will all be behind us in a few months, but I know that the time between now and February 4th is going to fly...
In the meantime (but probably after the tonsillectomy!), we'll need to prepare Amelia for what she's going to go through. Does anyone know someone whose child has undergone heart surgery? If so, I would love to chat with them. I think the physiology won't actually be too hard to explain – she has a hole in her heart that the doctors need to fix – but I'm not sure how to explain how she's going to feel after the surgery (without scaring her), or the necessity of taking it easy (not a four-year-old's strong suit) for what could be several weeks while she's recovering. Any suggestions? While shopping for Christmas gifts online, I stumbled across this adorable stuffed heart, and think we absolutely HAVE to get it for Amelia.
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| This has to be the best ever get-well-soon-gift for a kid having heart surgery, right? |
Well, that's it for now with respect to Amelia's heart, and we likely won't have more news on this front until her pre-op assessment in January. I'll try to post about some more cheerful topics between now and then. With Chad's family in town for Thanksgiving and plans to spend Christmas with mine in upstate New York, that shouldn't be too difficult!
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