Yesterday was our Cardiology appointment and echo. I got off work and picked-up Steve and the kids. We got to Iowa City, hauled in the kiddos and our umpteen bags, then got seated. They called Olivia back for her vitals, which is usually a bit of a task. She'll usually sit on my lap and cry while they do her 4 point blood pressure and O2 SATS. This time was different...Our big girl climbed up on the chair all by herself and was a peach the entire time. The nurse blew bubbles to keep Olivia entertained and Olivia talked her ear off, asking all about her appointment.



Once we were done we headed over to the cath lab for her echo. This is where things got tricky. As soon as Liv sat on the table, panic set in. She clung to me and kept saying, "No, no no...." It took some coaxing, but we finally got her to lay down and hold fairly still. After this we headed back to the room and Olivia got to open her super special surprise for being such a good girl. Trudy came in a little while later and took a look at Livi. She was such a good girl, talking to Trudy and playing with her toys while Trudy listened to her heart.








When she was done Trudy took Livi to get a snack, since she was asking for some food. Have I ever mentioned how awesome Trudy is? Then her and Dr. Law took a look at the echo. When they came back in we talked at great length about Olivia and the next open-heart surgery. He also took a look at Miss Livi-Pie, which she didn't mind. When he was listening to her heart, Olivia put her hand on his face and started rubbing his cheek. It was sooo sweet!

Dr. Law felt that her echo looked stable, but the time is coming. With most heart kiddos things don't happen quickly, it's a slow process of decline before things get to the point of surgery. He felt Olivia's body was starting to get ready for it and he thought doing a heart cath sometime in the next couple of months would be a good idea. Dr. Law said this summer is a reasonable time to go ahead with Olivia's 3rd open-heart surgery. We knew it was coming, we just thought we had a little more time...We weren't even supposed to have an appointment until June. But, it is what it is....We have to do this someday and that someday has now become this summer.