Natalie Update

How is Natalie doing? She is doing fine, I don't think she has any clue her body is different...

What Natalie has been diagnosed with is Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. She has been given medication called a beta blocker to slow down her heart rate, and relieve some of the symptoms.

The prognosis includes open heart surgery, called a Myectomy, the first part of next year. The surgeon will go in and remove the large tissue build up in her heart that is blocking a valve in the left ventricle.



Her next appointment at the Mayo is January 7th. She will have a more thourough ECHO under sedation (an ultrasound of the heart), see the surgeon, pediatric cardiologist, and a genetic counlser also. I anticipate we will be scheduling surgery that day as well. Meanwhile, she has a follow up at the Children's Heart Clinic in St. Paul on Friday. Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Natalie will all have ECHOs done.

Matt and I were screened yesterday, and we will have our results on Friday. How are we holding up? Good days and bad days. Sometimes I can hardly believe what we are going through, and the thought of loosing Natalie is tangible. Other days I ignore it, and other days my faith tells me that she will come through this. I also fear that the boys will have the same condition, or Matt...I just try to ignore all the bad things. Please pray that Natalie's heart has no change for the worse, and that the medication carries her through to her surgery without any problems. And pray that Jesus would carry all of us. I am scared, and worried and angry. I PRAY THAT WE ARE ON THE VERGE OF THE MOST WONDERFUL STREAK OF BLESSINGS! And that God would open my eyes to see what they are.