The Power of Prayer

For several weeks our family has been lifted up by the warmth and love of our community. Family, friends, LDS and other church members have kept us in their prayers, lit candles for us and constantly asked if there is anything that we need. We could not possibly be more fortunate to have such a loving and spiritual circle of support. We have been counting on every prayer, every fast, every positive thought that has come in our direction. After the last few days, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that these prayers are making a difference.

Emmett and I ventured off to Children's Hospital yesterday morning for our third echocardiogram. It had been 3 weeks since the last one, so I assumed we were just continuing our watch for growth in the left side of the heart. Kelley pulled up the little ticker on the monitor and was instantly impressed by the amount of growth that could be seen without even comparing to the old measurements. I think I was in a state of perma-grin for the hour and a half that he took pictures, videos and measurements. There was a lot of growth, improved blood flow and even Dr. Jue's final parting gift to me was, "Well, it's clear the situation isn't as serious as we originally thought."  A few of my favorite phrases went something like this:

"I'm really surprised at the amount of growth that we are seeing."
"This is the opposite of what I was expecting to see today."
"I think Dr. Marx in Boston was right."
"If this had been our first echo, I would say that there is no way that this will end up being a 1-ventricle heart."

and my favorite phrase of the day..."I'm going to feel bad if we put you through all this for nothing."  Gee, Kelley, I think I'll get over it....

Now before we all get too excited that Emmett has no real heart problem, the fact remains that parts of his heart are smaller than they should be. That is evidenced on the screen and even I can see the differences. The main hunt now is to establish the CAUSE of the underdeveloped ventricle. There are three likely culprits: mitral valve, aortic valve, and aortic arch. Yesterday, we eliminated the mitral valve as a cause. This is great news because a mitral valve problem usually leads to Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. I'm not positive that its off the table, but it seems less and less likely that Emmett will need 3 open heart surgeries. There are no words for the joy that brings to my own heart.

The jury is still out on the aortic valve vs. the arch, since the valve is still really small and hard to see. If the problem is somewhere in the arch, then this leads to Coarctation of the Aorta, a serious but much less deadly problem that can be fixed with one surgery and leaves him with a functioning left ventricle. Kelley noted that the arch had doubled in size over the last three weeks, so even though it is still small, it is still growing!
If things keep going as they are, the likely result is that Emmett will still be taken to Children's Hospital when he is born and the docs will allow his ductus arteriosis to close under heavy supervision. Then we watch to see what his heart can do on its own. Maybe coarctation will occur, maybe not.

The truth is, I have never doubted that my Father in Heaven would take care of us. The question for me was always, in what way? And watching this miracle occur as the weeks go by...watching the doctors surprise and sometimes even embarrassment as they backpedal....seeing this little boy grow and grow despite unfavorable medical odds and statistics....well, let's just say it's an amazing experience. Life changing (literally) for us both.

Your prayers, your fasts, your vigilance and your love are making a physical difference in the life of this little boy....and if his heart continues to grow at the same rate that my faith is expanding...then surely some day he will move mountains.