We have so much to update everyone on! First, on January 9th - our little girl turned 2!!! It's so hard to believe that she has grown so much and that we have had her almost 11 months!!! :) Time flies!! Bing Bing is doing so well! The last 4-6 weeks - she has really come into her own.
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| Her 1st birthday party in China |
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| Our beautiful 2 year old |
Medically - Olivia has done so well since her LADD procedure in Birmingham this past August. She doesn't throw up near as much as before. We are down to just a few times a week versus multiple times per day - we are thankful!! Just before Christmas, we noticed that Olivia's hands and feet turned VERY blue after a bath! The first time scared us to death and we called CHOP to talk to the cardiologist. They didn't sound very concerned at all after learning she was a single ventricle patient. The blue continued to occur after EVERY bath from then on. We called the single ventricle program at CHOP, where Olivia is a patient, and they also didn't seem very concerned. We had our regular 6 month appointment earlier this month and in talking with her pediatric cardiologist, also the Director of the Single Ventricle Program, they said the blueish tint we noticed will happen the rest of her life - even after her Fontan procedure. They said it's just how her body is made and that when her body changes temperatures - that her hands, feet, and lips will turn very blue, but that she is perfectly fine!! It will occur after baths, after getting out of the swimming pool, etc. I asked if I should limit her time in the bath and they said no - just let her play and have fun.
Her appointment was a full day of assessments and Miss Olivia Mann was SUCH A BIG GIRL!!! She didn't cry at all! This was her first time to handle everything so well. We were like 2 beaming parents - just glowing at our big little girl!!! She had an echocardiogram, EKG, and all the other things like oxygen levels, blood pressure, etc. They said she looked great and was doing incredible. Also, for the first time - our little turkey is on the growth chart! YAY! She is 5th percentile for height and weight :))). In lieu of all this, they decided they might want to proceed with her next surgery earlier than anticipated. Since her first heart surgery was in China, they also want to go ahead and do some of the preliminary testing for her Fontan procedure. Usually this is done a week or so before the surgery, but they want to make sure and plan appropriately and they don't have any of her records from China. So, it looks like June 13th - she will have a cardiac MRI, heart cath, and possibly a bronchoscopy. We will spend one night in the hospital and she will have a few days of recovery. Mommy is a nervous wreck about all that is too come!!! Most likely her next (and final :)) heart surgery will take place as early as this fall and as late as next March. They will decide for sure after the heart cath.
Developmentally - Olivia is now getting once a week speech and occupational therapy. They are so impressed with her every time they see her :). They believe she will fully catch up and is doing everything she should be - just a little bit later than she would have normally done it. Her best score was socially at 20 months (she was 24 months at her assessment), speech was assessed at 17 months, and physical was 14 months. She has become so much more confident the last few weeks. She was also so sweet to wave to people, but if they waved back - she would duck her head and get very shy - now she will talk to anyone ( in her own special language). She is now saying some words in English - she can say mommy and daddy, good boy, ball, baby, uh-oh, Dee Dee, dirty, ma maw and paw paw, more, bye bye, hi, and Roll Tide :)... (more like "row ty").
We have one special little girl!!! She is our dream come true and can't believe how blessed we are to have her in our lives! God has special plans for this little girl :).
