Miracle Friday

This was originally just going to be a post with a slideshow from Labor Day weekend; however, we received some really great news today that we had to share with everybody. 

As most of the people who visit this site know , Patrick was diagnosed with supravalvar pulmonary stenosis when he was about 3 weeks old. We were told that this was a congenital heart defect that we would have to monitor and manage for the rest of Patrick's life. The best case scenario was limited impact to Patrick's activities and annual trips to the cardiologist and the worst case was multiple open heart surgeries over time to repair or replace the valve-way. The doctors and all the literature we read said that this was a condition he wouldn't grow out of and would need to be closely monitored for life. Obviously, we weren't real excited about the news but we were happy to hear that even in severe degrees this was a treatable condition. He may not be able to ride roller coasters or play soccer but we'd still have Patrick with us.

Angie and I took Patrick to the cardiologist today for a 6 week follow-up. We were a little unsettled about today's trip because of the unexpected news that was delivered during our last visit. As we found out, our worrying was for nothing. After an EKG and an echocardiogram, the cardiologist told us that Patrick's heart condition had disappeared! Angie and I made him repeat it probably 5 more times before we'd believe it. I kept trying to throw out hypothetical situations like "So, let's say I'm filling out insurance forms, do I have to say he has pulmonary stenosis on that?" thinking that it couldn't have really gone away and there had to be a catch. Of course, his answer was always "No. He really doesn't have it any more."

This was as equally shocking as the news we had received the first trip but in an exact opposite way. We've been coming to terms with the long term impact of his condition for the last six weeks and in one sentence all of that was taken away. We left the doctor's office and stood in the hall and hugged and cried for a good 5 minutes. 

We want to sincerely thank everybody who's prayed for Patrick (and for us) throughout all of this. Apparently your thoughts and prayers worked! Our miracle baby is all better!

Ok. Enough of this sappy stuff. Onto the pictures and video of Patrick...

Here's a slideshow Angie put together from Labor Day weekend at the Suskay Cabin*. We had such a great time with the families. We played a lot and ate even more and loved every minute of it. The whole group planted a beautiful sycamore tree for Patrick on the property. By our best estimates, it should be just the right size for him to start climbing by the time he's 4 or so :)

And here's a video of Patrick telling us about his day after getting his diaper changed. He's been "talking" a TON lately and experimenting with all the different sounds he knows how to make. It's great watching him and you can't help but laugh and talk back (apparently in a really high voice).

*If you click on the lower-right side of the slideshow then the words 'Labor Day', it'll take you to the album on Picasa where you can view, save and order prints of the full sized pictures.