Cath is On

After a stressful couple of weeks with illness in the house among various children (ear infections, coughs, colds, RSV, vomiting), we are finally in Boston and ready for Clare's cardiac catheterization tomorrow. We will not be 100% positive until tomorrow that the cath is actually happening, but we're ready to go.

With Violet and Eliza being sick the last week, we have been so careful in keeping Clare away from them, diligently washing hands, purell everywhere! We didn't want to take any chances with Clare coming down with an illness that would force us to postpone her cath. We thought we were doing good until Clare presented with a slight fever and runny nose over the weekend. I took her to the pediatrician's on Sunday and, sure enough, she had a double ear infection. I thought for sure the cath was off. But after a few days on antibiotics, Clare is definitely not feeling sick in any way (more energy than her exhausted mom, that's for sure!). The team at the hospital said an ear infection alone would not be cause for postponement, so we came on down to Children's Hospital today for her pre-op workup. After a long day of tests and labs and meeting with doctors and nurses, she is cleared for her cath tomorrow morning. One ear is still slightly red, and she does have a small cough, but as long as she is fever- and congestion-free tomorrow, she is good to go!

The plan during the cath is primarily to take a look around Clare's heart and see what's been going on in there over the last four years. The doctors are fairly sure she will need some stent and vessel dilations done while they are in there. The same interventional cardiologist (who is the cardiologist-in-chief here) personally does Clare's caths, so he knows her, knows her vasculature, knows Williams syndrome, and we know she is in the best hands. Depending on the extent of work done will determine what Clare's post-op plan is (one night or two nights in the hospital). We pray that all goes smoothly, and she is discharged on Thursday.

Clare was such a brave, patient girl during the six hours of pre-op today. The worst moment was when she needed her injections for the lung scan and the blood draw. Now we're resting at the hotel for the evening since we've all been up since before 5am. One of the good things about Clare being older is that she is the second case tomorrow which means we can be a little more leisurely in the morning before heading over to the hospital. Right now, her cath is set for 9:30am. Thank you everyone for your prayers!