Eli Strong (+ He Lost a TOOTH!)

(This post has been in my "edit" folder for a long time.  When I was first writing it Eli was doing great, then he got a wet cough and it really worried me!  But it cleared up over Thanksgiving break, and nothing major ever came of it.  I'll just never stop worrying about this child!)

There are few things I am more grateful for than Eli's overall health.  I do not know why Eli is so well built, but for whatever the reason I feel that Eli is truly blessed with it.

(When we would go to Primary Children's Medical Center, the PICU nurses would marvel at how "big" Eli was for a heart child.  "What do you do to help him be so big?" they would ask.  I'd answer, "Um… Well… He likes hot dogs and cottage cheese… ??")

It's no secret to the boys that if Eli is the one mad at you, you best be watching your back.  His physical ability to move in such a coordinated fashion is really a marvel.  I'll be sitting on the ottoman, and Eli will jump off the couch, land on my neck, wrap in legs around my neck, and swing down, and bring us both tumbling to the ground.  It's scary good.  And it hurts, to tell the truth.

So....... Eli recently had his annual heart check-up.  Oh, it went wonderful, and he still looking great.  (He weighed 47 pounds and was 45 inches tall.  A solid square, man.)

AND THEN ELI LOST A TOOTH!  I know, right?!
And he lost it in the middle of church, haha.  He started biting on carrots and crackers really hard, and his tooth just *popped* down.  Matt hastily took Eli to the bathroom and 5 minutes later Eli came back one-tooth-less.  It was awesome.  I started to cry a little bit.  Just sometimes it really takes me off guard that he is really growing up!  And that he is hitting the miles stones which when he was born I didn't really allow myself to think about.  (Dramatic, right?  Yeah... I know.)

Anyway.... Just love this boy.  He's crazy.  But it's awesome crazy.
Loves fashion.  Loves to dance.  Loves food.  Loves to roll up into a Transformer.

Eli Heart Update:

Eli healing from his third open heart surgery, Aug 2011, at age 2. 

I've been thinking about Eli and his heart adventure quite a bit.  I'm surprised by this, for I thought once his last surgery was done, and his healing finished, my mind about this business would be at peace.  However I find myself always wondering, hoping, and worrying about this little man.  

5 years ago is when we found out about his heart defect, during a 21 week ultrasound.  The week before, at the 20 week ultrasound, the technician mentioned she could not see the other side of baby boy's heart.  We set up a more another ultrasound with specialized doctor and technician "just to be sure everything is there," just for precaution.  At this 21 week ultrasound, at a different doctor's office, we were told that yes, our baby boy did have a severe heart defect.   I'm continually grateful that we had this amazing blessing: having the defect caught and identified early in the pregnancy.  We were put on the right path of healing from the earliest point possible.  Made an amazing difference for Eli. 

(If the defect wasn't caught till after birth, he would have seemed a healthy baby and we would have taken him home.  After a week or two he would have started showing signs of heart failure--tugging of breath into the chest, unable to eat, pail and sweaty--and hopefully we would have gotten him to the right doctor in time.  If not, the pressure of blood to his lungs would have destroyed the lungs by 4 to 6 weeks of life, causing death. ) 

We are in a new area, with new doctors, and we are starting to realize how blessed Eli has been.  These Savannah, GA cardiologists are amazing by Eli's insides--how well and clean the surgeries and procedures look.  Recently we found out that Eli's surgeon, who performed all three surgeries on him at Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City, has been hired in the Boston.  Being a heart surgeon in Boston is a BIG. DEAL.  Yeah, he is THAT good.    

So at this last appointment was really, really good.  Eli is doing well.  Looks like nothing needs to be done in the future.  Even his minor leaking mitral valve is minimized to almost nothing!  Yay!  He only has one valve, so it's pretty important.  

-- Basically the only heart related affects we deal with now is Eli's amazing ability to bruise and bleed.  He's been on an aspirin regiment since 4 months old, so his blood is really thin.  (He takes a baby aspirin every night).  He gets hit and BAM a bruise.  He gets cut and BAM a gallon of blood.
He fell on a rock one after noon.  The pinky finger got smashed, and the tip of that finger was rock solid with blood for an hour or two.  It finally started to drain, but then an amazing bruise stuck around for like a week or so.  He's a colorful dude!
-- Still very sweaty when he exercises.
-- Also I worry when he gets in contact with someone with a throat infection.  That infection could be Strep Throat.  And the actual strain of bacteria for Strep Throat, if untreated, attacks the lining of the heart.  Kind of a big deal.

SO that's my update for possibly a year!  For the doctor told us he looks so good we no longer need to do 6 month appointments, just yearly.  Yay!  Hooray!  Shout for joy!  

Eli at the Doc's, Eli in a Box

Eli had a cardio appointment on Tuesday with his new doctor, and it went really smooth!  Titus came along, he did well.  I brought a charged iPad (which hardly ever happens), some books, and some snacks.  We all survived!

Eli was really calm, stayed still for the EKG and hear echo, and pretty much enjoyed having a lot of attention.

The best part is the good news:  Eli's heart and body are doing exceptionally well.  Yay!
I really like our new doctor, too.  He's very kind, willing to talk and answer questions, and is pretty personable.  He was especially impressed with the repair and work done on Eli, saying it was all really top notch.  I came away from the appointment, once again, in deep gratitude for the care we received at Primary Childrens Medical Center in Salt Lake City.  I've always loved our surgeon, and for good reason.

We are truly blessed.

When he was just a babe, the EKG would cover his whole chest!  It was a bit overwhelming.
Now look at my 40 pound "heart baby" :)

Heart echo while sitting up--that's a first.  He was watching CARS.  Happy boy. 

Eli started to take pictures.  He was pretty obsessed with this BumbleBee poster.
 He took like 20 pics of it in a row! 

Eli put himself in a box last weekend.  It screamed "photo op."  We enjoyed this 5 minutes (my mom helped Eli in and out of the box).