Mason had a cardiology appointment yesterday. It was an appointment to find out if he can go home. Everything checked out and we got the okay to fly home after being here for 6 weeks! His echo is still stable. He still has some trivial to mild leaky valves, which aren't a worry but something that will be watched closely. He also still also has mild aortic stenosis which is also something that they will continue to watch. With such big repair and his heart and body adjusting to a completely different circulation his heart is very mildly hypertrophic, which means it is working pretty hard. You can actually see his heart pumping on the outside of his chest, another thing that needs to be watched closely. Lastly he has some narrowing in his pulmonary artery. So in a nutshell, even though he has a full heart, his heart has a ways to go before it is better. It is still in a critical recovery state and they are still being very cautious with him. Although we are going home, things wont be back to normal just yet. First they don't want us traveling, even to Bear Lake, during these next few months. Also we still have to try our hardest to keep him from getting sick. With his heart currently being hypertrophic and everything still adjusting a cold could be devastating to his hearts recovery. They way they stressed it made it feel like it is more importantly to keep him healthy now than it was before surgery. With time things should all stable out and Mason will be able to get a cold and fight it like a healthy child, but that time isn't yet. So until we come back to Boston Mason wont be able to go anywhere but home and on drives in the car and the only people who will be able to come see him will have to be very healthy with nobody sick at their house. We have to bring him back in 8-12 weeks for another heart cath to check numbers and progress and possibly balloon the narrowing in the pulmonary artery.
His cardiologist feels he will do just fine returning to a much higher altitude but will need to be followed by his cardiologist in Salt Lake very closely.
We are so excited to be able to be at our own house with our family under one roof. We are so so grateful for such an amazing support system. We have met a lot of people who have nothing, literally, due to having to go through medical treatment with their kids. I feel so blessed to have grown up in Bear Lake with all support we have gotten from the community. I have also seen the community come together for others there going through hard times and it warms my heart to see a place full of so much giving! I also feel like it isn't a fluke that we decided to stay in Logan longer after Zac graduated. Our friends and neighbors have been so great to help us out with whatever we need. I am also so grateful for people who have done fundraisers or are planning them, they are a lot of hard work, but have helped our family out more than anyone will ever know. Our first trip here we spent over $5,000 in housing alone and this time we were able to get something cheaper, but still have had to pay close to $4,000. On top of that we had to pay airfare, food, and transportation here, and bills back home while not making money taking time off work. There is NO POSSIBLE WAY, none, we could have done this alone, and it makes me cry to know how much help we have gotten from friends, family, and strangers who have fallen in love with Mason. When we come back to Boston it will hopefully only be for 5 days at the most and then after that we will hopefully only have to come here for a few days every 6 months and then hopefully get down to yearly visits. This has been an amazing trip seeing miracle after miracle and meeting so many great new friends.
In less than 24 hours we will be flying home, until next time Boston!
<3
His cardiologist feels he will do just fine returning to a much higher altitude but will need to be followed by his cardiologist in Salt Lake very closely.
We are so excited to be able to be at our own house with our family under one roof. We are so so grateful for such an amazing support system. We have met a lot of people who have nothing, literally, due to having to go through medical treatment with their kids. I feel so blessed to have grown up in Bear Lake with all support we have gotten from the community. I have also seen the community come together for others there going through hard times and it warms my heart to see a place full of so much giving! I also feel like it isn't a fluke that we decided to stay in Logan longer after Zac graduated. Our friends and neighbors have been so great to help us out with whatever we need. I am also so grateful for people who have done fundraisers or are planning them, they are a lot of hard work, but have helped our family out more than anyone will ever know. Our first trip here we spent over $5,000 in housing alone and this time we were able to get something cheaper, but still have had to pay close to $4,000. On top of that we had to pay airfare, food, and transportation here, and bills back home while not making money taking time off work. There is NO POSSIBLE WAY, none, we could have done this alone, and it makes me cry to know how much help we have gotten from friends, family, and strangers who have fallen in love with Mason. When we come back to Boston it will hopefully only be for 5 days at the most and then after that we will hopefully only have to come here for a few days every 6 months and then hopefully get down to yearly visits. This has been an amazing trip seeing miracle after miracle and meeting so many great new friends.
In less than 24 hours we will be flying home, until next time Boston!
<3
Watching the trains before his Echo
Being brave for his EKG (or being a robot as he would say)
Mason and Dr. Banka, I love this doctor more than words!
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