So Grateful...

Parker with his new stuffed Spider-man!

...that we're done with Parker's heart catheterization for another year! It is always such a relief to have it over with. Even though this is the 5th time, it really hasn't gotten much easier! Parker did great--he is such a brave boy. He has had to go through so much at his young age and he deals with it all so well. We are so proud of him. We have typically done this test annually in June, but we decided to move it up about 6 weeks this year because Parker and I are going to Orlando, Florida in June for a special Pulmonary Hypertension Conference!

In the holding room before the procedure.

We had an easy going morning since we didn't have to be at the hospital very early. After we checked in at the hospital at 11:00am, Parker enjoyed playing in the Pediatric Surgery waiting room because it has a big boat. At one point he even said, "This is fun, Mom and Dad!" He was called back to the holding room at 11:45am, we said "good-bye" an hour later and the procedure was finished by 2:00pm. The procedure went well and we were done much earlier than we had anticipated. Since Parker is getting bigger, his doctor was able to perform the right heart catheterization through his neck instead of his groin. This meant that there was less chance of bleeding complications and he didn't have to lay flat for 6 hours--definitely a plus! After about an hour in post-op recovery, they moved Parker to a regular room where he continued to recover. While Parker rested, he watched Spider-man and ate cherry Italian Ice. He slowly started feeling better and even felt well enough to eat the rice that was brought in on the dinner tray. Since he was doing so well, we were discharged around 6:30pm. Not too bad!

Happily eating Italian ice after the procedure.

The results of the catheterization are basically the same as they've been for the last 2 years. His pulmonary pressures are still considered systemic--which means the blood pressure in his lungs is about the same as the blood pressure in his body. Normally the pulmonary pressure should be about a quarter of the body's blood pressure. That means his Pulmonary Hypertension is still severe, but his body is handling it great! He is on the highest doses of all the medications currently available, so no changes were made. Although his PH is still considered severe, it has not worsened and physically he is doing great. That is good news to us! We are so grateful he is doing so well and hope and pray that he will  continue to do so. We love our little miracle so much and we are very grateful for his sweet spirit and the pure joy he brings to our family. Special thanks to all of you out there for your thoughts and prayers. Knowing so many people are thinking and praying for him strengthens us and makes it all just a little bit easier.