I talked to Dr Tong and he had heard from Dr Gandhi in St Louis. They agreed that there really isn't anything showing on his tests that show a problem with his heart right now so they think it would be best to wait to do the cath until springtime when cold/flu season is over. Hopefully between now and then he can gain some weight. We've started giving him Pediasure to help with that and we got it approved through the WIC program so we don't have to pay for it. That was a great relief because it's really expensive. So just keep praying for him to get bigger and make it safely through this winter. He has gotten both flu vaccines and was very upset about the bandaids. Talk to you all later.

Sarah

I forgot to give an update after Damon's appt on Monday, sorry! Dr Tong said his heart looked good. His sats were in the low 80's, right where they need to be. His aorta looked good on the echo. He did show a difference in his blood pressure between his arm and his leg which could suggest a narrowing in his aorta, but they didn't see anything on the echo. He did grow 2 centimeters taller, but he lost a 1/2 pound which is not good. Dr Tong said he is going to send the latest test stuff up to Dr Gandhi and see what he has to say about him not gaining weight. He hopefully will be calling us back in a few days to let us know where we go from here. I asked him what he would do if the decision was up to him and he said he would probably go ahead and do his heart cath since he will have to do it anyway before the last surgery. Even if his surgery isn't until next spring or summer, they could still use this one so he'll only have to have one. He said that since all the tests came back fine w/ his heart but he still isn't gaining weight, a closer look at the heart will show if everything is truly fine.

So we'll probably be going up to St Louis soon, although we can't really say when. We'll keep you updated, I promise! Talk to you all soon. Be praying please.

Sarah

Hayden's cath went great, he didn't have any major problems and they didn't even balloon his aorta like they thought they might have to. He stayed alseep for most of the time he was laying flat. (When he woke up briefly it took 4 people to hold him down.) He woke up completely around 8pm and then didn't want to go back to bed until about 2:30am, so it was a long day for Jenny. They came home Saturday. She spoke with Dr Gandhi and he said they could wait until spring for the surgery. Praise the Lord for this good news and thanks for all your prayers.

Damon has an appt w/ Dr Tong tomorrow. We'll update tomorrow night probably.

Sarah

Hayden is Damon's little buddy. Most of you know him but for those who don't he's got the same heart defect as Damon and they were born three weeks apart at the same hospital by the same dr and have had the same surgeon. He's pretty special to us. He's going in for a heart cath Friday morning. Please pray with us for a safe, successful procedure. Pray for quick, uneventful recovery time (he'll have to lie flat for several hours which is not fun for a 2 1/2 year old if they're awake.) Pray that he won't have any reactions to any meds and that he will be discharged Friday evening to come home. Thanks for agreeing in prayer with us for Hayden.

Sarah