Thursday, March 03, 2005

It Looks Like a Transplant

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CODY!!!!

The cath went well today. Bailey tolerated the procedure very well. It took longer then we expected - about 4 hours - but they did a lot of testing things. These past 2 weeks they haven't been able to really find anything that would rule out either of our options (her own heart recovering or a transplant) and Bailey's condition isn't anything they can research since it's "unchartered territory". But the cath today showed something that makes them believe that Bailey's heart is unlikely to recover fully for long-term. So they're going to talk at their "round table" in the morning and Dr. Darragh is going to recommend a transplant. They say it could take anywhere from a few days to a few months to get a heart. They also say they haven't completely closed the door on her own heart. If we end up waiting for a month or months and they find that her heart is continuing to recover, they aren't opposed to reviewing things again. But they want to go ahead and list her so we don't miss out on any opportunities for a match. With that said, we're doing pretty good. Bailey handled the news much better than I expected. The word "transplant" has really scared her in the past but she seems OK with it now. We talked about how what the doctors don't want to happen is to send her home with her own heart and we find out down the road that her heart can't tolerate things, the pressure goes up again, and we end up back here in this situation again - or maybe worse. They are very pleased how Bailey has done on the Berlin Heart. In fact, they used the word "remarkable". But the longer she's on it, the great the risk becomes for infection or stroke, so I think they're ready to move on. And we're ready to move on as well. Just knowing which direction we're headed is a relief. We don't know a whole lot about trasplant, so now we have to get educated on that, but it's a whole lot better than a heart/lung transplant (which is where we would be if the Berlin Heart hadn't allowed her pressures to come down) and it's a whole lot better than where we were 6 weeks ago with Bailey's failing heart.

So, for now, we'll just hang out here and wait on Bailey's incredible gift. Now that we see a little light at the end of the tunnel, we can focus on things to do once we're out of here - like summer vacation, riding Bailey's newly-adopted horse, getting back to gymnastics, etc. The nurses have already set up a manicure and pedicure for Bailey tomorrow afternoon. Cousin Mallery is spending the night tomorrow night. That will be fun! She always makes Bailey feel special.

Thank you for your continued prayers. We love you all!
Angie

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