Update on Madelyn

Back in August we visited Children's for Madelyn's semi-annual cardiologist appointment and testing. They had indicated they wanted her to begin blood pressure medication. Matt and I were skeptical so we asked for another opinion. They agreed to take Madelyn's case to the next Pediatric Cardiology Meeting held at Children's in September. The called us last Thursday to let us know they reviewed Maddies case at one of their meetings and all Doctors present agreed that due to her condition, they felt the medication was needed and that surgery was not. The Doctor explained that they felt Madelyn would still need surgery later on in her teenage years but were confident her heart is strong and should be able to hold off until then. So, this week she began taking Lisinopril. This medication will help control the blood to oxygen flow in her arteries, especially as her heart grows as she gets older. The crappy thing is that it is indefinite....she will be on it forever. They also informed me that Madelyn can no longer take over the counter cold or allergy medicines. If she gets a cold she has to tough it out or if its bad enough we can bring her up there. She is also going to be prone to dehydration.......once they told me this I began asking more questions about her always being thirsty and the Dr told me this was a very common condition with heart disease..?? WHO KNEW. With all this said, we have some minor obstacles to face, mostly remembering her medication each night and what she can and cannot take over the counter, but nothing we can't handle! Considering all she has been through already in her short 4 years of life, this is nothing!

Just wanted to give you all an update. Otherwise she is doing fine and doesn't complain at all about taking the medicine, its a liquid and she likes it!

Joshua is doing fine too, so far he has been healthy this school year, yay!