Cath Complete

We are exhausted, so just a brief note that Clare's cath is done. She did beautifully. The doctors did a lot of dilating, but the dilations were successful and things look great right now. If all goes well, she may not need another cath for a year! I will write more when we get some rest!

(Later) My little peanut is asleep, so I have some time to put some thoughts down about today. What a day. All in all, it was a pretty good day, albeit a very tiring day. The cath was a long one, but, as I said, the doctors were able to successfully dilate Clare's right and left pulmonary arteries as well as her aorta where the surgical patch ends. They were so succesful in the aorta that the pressure gradient is down to almost zero (zero being the best). Clare almost ended up with another stent in her pulmonary side, but the cardiologist was able to dilate that section enough that a stent became unnecessary. Thank God for these doctors and their skill. Not having a stent placed means that there is no ICU stay and Clare can be discharged tomorrow.

Right now, Clare is pretty wiped. She has slept all afternoon, waking briefly to nurse. She is in some discomfort, so she has been given some pain medication. The only real negative part of her cath is that the vein the doctors use as access is no longer working. Because of repeated entry, a blood clot has formed there. Clare is in no danger from that clot because her other vessels will work around it, but the doctors can no longer use that vein. Therefore, they have to gain entry through the artery, which is a bigger risk. The doctors did use the vein on her other side as well, so Clare has more healing to be done in that area. She lost a lot of blood, but not enough to warrant the risk of a transfusion, so she's very pale and sleepy. This should all improve over the next couple days.

The real exciting news is that Clare's pulmonary side looks fairly "good." She still has much narrowing throughout her smaller branches on that side, but the doctors really cannot do too much that far out. Her proximal arteries (where the stents are) look much better because of the stents. Therefore, she does not need another cath for hopefully at least a year. The thing that could bring Clare in sooner is if the coarctation of her aorta develops again. So she will continue with close follow-ups with our cardiologist at home. This has been the best news we've received yet! Although we know Clare's pattern is to require intervention sooner rather than later, we are excited at the possibility of a year between procedures!