He always giggles when the cold gel hits his skin with the echocardiogram. He said he felt like a superhero when wired up for his EKG. (Little does he know he is our little superhero!!!!)
Everything looks great! There was no significant change from his last appointment with minimal re-narrowing of the pulmonary valve. All functioning and pressures look good. There has been some thickening of his pulmonary artery right above the pulmonary valve which the doctor said is likely part of his congenital heart defect- Ash just has an extra special heart- but we already knew that! (See picture below for a guide to heart anatomy- you can see Ash’s reflection in the picture too!)
Thickening with this artery is low risk as it is a lower-pressure system of the heart and will likely not need correction. However it, along with his continued pulmonary valve health, is something they will monitor as he grows and for which he should avoid contact sports (eg. no blows to the chest which pose risk of rupture). The doctor was very encouraged with the minimal change over two years. If this trend keeps up, then he will likely not need a valve replacement in the future. Yay!!!!
We celebrated with lunch at Freebirds, Ash’s choice, before driving back to Bartlesville and dropping him off at school.
Everything looks great! There was no significant change from his last appointment with minimal re-narrowing of the pulmonary valve. All functioning and pressures look good. There has been some thickening of his pulmonary artery right above the pulmonary valve which the doctor said is likely part of his congenital heart defect- Ash just has an extra special heart- but we already knew that! (See picture below for a guide to heart anatomy- you can see Ash’s reflection in the picture too!)
Thickening with this artery is low risk as it is a lower-pressure system of the heart and will likely not need correction. However it, along with his continued pulmonary valve health, is something they will monitor as he grows and for which he should avoid contact sports (eg. no blows to the chest which pose risk of rupture). The doctor was very encouraged with the minimal change over two years. If this trend keeps up, then he will likely not need a valve replacement in the future. Yay!!!!
It was absolutely wonderful to get such good news. (And a relief considering that I held my breath through the entire set of scans! Well at least it seemed like it!).
We celebrated with lunch at Freebirds, Ash’s choice, before driving back to Bartlesville and dropping him off at school.
Great news regarding Ashton's heart!!
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