Pacemaker Checkup

October 2nd, 2007 | by Dawn |

This past Sunday we went to Iowa City for the Heart Friends picnic. Heart Friends is a support group sponsored by the hospital. We met lots of other parents of kids with heart defects, some more serious than Kevin’s, some less. We talked with Kevin’s Dr.’s — it was nice to talk in a casual setting. Kevin had a great time and ran around like a maniac the entire time. I love seeing the older kids and hearing their stories. They are energetic, happy and healthy. They give me so much hope for the future.

On Monday morning we headed back to Iowa City for a scheduled pacemaker check and EKG. It went fairly well, Kevin had a fit over the EKG stickers. All of his other EKG’s were done while he was still sedated from his echo. We were able to sing Itsy-bitsy spider and get him to sit still long enough for a good reading. His pacemaker is functioning well, he has an estimated 2.5 yrs left on his battery. They did diagnose an arrhythmia from his EKG, it is benign though, so they are just going to watch it. He will have an echo done in January to make sure his heart function is stable. He goes back to Dr. Law in April for another pacemaker check.

Kevin is also doing well with eating. The feeding therapist is only going to come once every three weeks. He has gained almost 4lbs in 6 months and will now eat table food. We are no longer relying on pediasure. When I ask him if he is ready to eat, he throws his head back and screams “EAT” real dramatically. He is eating cantaloupe as I type this 🙂