Long Sedated Echo

Shortly after her surgery the doctors said that Meredith's left ventricle function was down. Down from what, I don't know, but I took it as meaning not doing as well as they would have liked. Since at that point having her simply recover from the surgery was the most important thing nothing more was mentioned (to us anyway) regarding this.

Today Meredith had a follow up sedated echo. Unfortunately, her left ventricle's function continues to be "down". They also discovered that she still has some valve regurgitation, but it is mild enough to be ignored for the time being. Meredith is still not gaining weight, even though we coat everything in butter and give her ice cream every night. This may be due to her left ventricle function.

My question was "fine, what are they going to do to fix it?" We live in a world of spare parts (computers, cars, etc) that it is hard to remember that fixing her heart is not just a matter of hitting the local scrap yard. The doctors are going to start her on some beta blockers to see if that has any effect. This is a medicine that can create enough complicated side effects that Stephanie will have to take Meredith to the Hospital to administer her first dose. If that goes well then we can give her the medicine at home.

The rest of my private thoughts regarding this will remain just that for the time being, private.

-Chip

Post-Op-Follow-up-App

Meredith went for her follow-up appointment today. The doctor said that she was doing pretty good except that she has lost a little weight. A nutritionist is supposed to be contacting us later today to talk about packing in the calories. The doctor also scheduled a sedated echo for about a month out. They want to take a closer look on how her heart is functioning. Unless something post-worthy happens between now and then, I will post after her next appointment.

-Chip