An update

This afternoon Katie had her appointment with the cardiologist. There is both bad news, and good news. The bad news is that Katie has a heart defect called Altria Septal Defect (ASD). You can look up the details if you'd like, but the short version is that there is a small hole in the wall that separates the top 2 chambers of her heart. The facts:

• The whole is approximately 6-8 millimeters


• There is a 33% chance that it will heal/close on its own as Katie grows and develops


• There is a 67% chance that it will not close naturally


• There is a 50% chance that it will get larger

The cardiologist says for now they will monitor Katie, hoping the hole heals naturally. If her heart doesn't heal on its own - or if it worsens - surgery will be required. The surgery wouldn't occur immediately. It would likely be sometime between age 3 and 6 (depending on many different factors).

There are 2 options for the surgery. One is a catheterization process, one is open-heart. The doctor indicated Katie's hole appears to be a good candidate for the catheterization process, which is much less invasive and risky (put this on the good news list).

Speaking of the good news: I've reminded myself this evening that this is a defect that could heal on its own. The defect she has is more mild than some others we could have faced....and I'm grateful for that. ASD is something that is "fixable".....either by nature, or by surgery. And, unless something drastically changes, Katie will continue her normal activities. No medication required, no restricted activities.....so there is no real impact to her daily life.

Matt and I took the news as well as could be expected today. We've been down the road of surgery discussions before - multiple times actually. While I hate to be back there again, I'm a little better prepared than I was for round one. For now, we are planning for the worst and hoping/praying for the best.

Thank you to everyone for your support and prayers! And, of course, for letting me vent (ha!).