Sedated Heart Echo

I want to apologize for the lack of activity lately.  I've been travelling for work and such over the last month.  But Whitney is doing great and I have lots to share about her recent experiences and progress.

In the seven years I've been covering Whitney's adventures, I've never really covered cardiology.  Many 1p36 Deletion patients have heart defects or other concerns that require careful vigilance.  Several of our friends in the 1p36 community have children who underwent open heart surgery within the first few months of life.  Whitney was spared that struggle, but due to the concerns over 1p36 Deletions and heart health, we see a cardiologist every few years.

Last time Whitney was in for a heart checkup the doctor discovered that the structure of Whit's heart is normal.  But it doesn't beat with the same big beat-small beat rhythm that your heart and mine do.  The cardiologist said that it wasn't an immediate cause for concern but that we would watch things over the years and see if the situation changed.

So last Friday Whitney went in for a sedated heart echo.  To get a good look at her heart, we always have to sedate her.  Otherwise she's just too fidgety.  While she was asleep the technician took all kinds of measurements, still images and video of Whitney's heart in action.  These will be sent over to the cardiologist who will let us know how things look.  We don't have the results yet.  Specialists seem to take forever to get in to.  But I'll be sure to share when they come in.

While Whitney was asleep, we decided to take advantage of some sedated dentistry as well.  Her pediatric dentist came by and took her first good dental x-rays and also removed one of her baby teeth that was obstructing an adult tooth on its way in.  The dentist said Whit's x-rays looked good and that her teeth seem healthy.  That was welcome news.  The dentist also saved Whitney's tooth so the tooth fairy could come again.

Whitney has had some history of being upset and disoriented coming out of anesthesia, but she did great this time.  She was calm as she woke up and Melanie was right there with Whitney's music to keep her occupied until she was released.  All in all, it was a very smooth day at the hospital.  Whitney was a very good sport, especially since she had to go without food the morning of the tests, due to the anesthesia.

Now we're just waiting on the cardiologist to get back to us.  However, if there was anything serious, I'm sure he'd have called by now.