John Update

I just wanted to let you know what the latest is on John's heart. Ted and I took him to Riley Hospital for Children on Tuesday. He had spent the night at Riley a month ago after getting a slight cold. Due to his heart condition, his lungs started filling up with fluid and they put him on some medicines to control it and regulate his heart. Tuesday's visit was a follow up to that.

His cardiologist was very pleased with Tuesday's test results. He said the blood pressure numbers on each side of the heart are improving. That's exactly what they're looking for. He also was pleased with how well John is doing in general. He's eating well and growing like crazy. That's unusual for a child with such a large hole in his heart. He said there is still a 90% chance that John will eventually need heart surgery. However, we may be able to wait quite some time (years, maybe?) before he has to have the surgery. The bigger John is, the lower the risks. There's also the chance that John will fall into that 10% category and have the hole close enough that he won't need the surgery at all.

The great news for us is that his doctor thinks that in a few months, John could be doing so well that we can take him to open-play situations like the church nursery. Right now, we still have to be very careful to keep him out of situations where there is a high risk he could be exposed to
bacteria for colds, etc. We go back in April for another run of tests to see if John is continuing to improve.

We are so grateful to God for keeping His hand on John. We are so grateful that he is doing so well and that we have an excellent hospital nearby that was able to quickly diagnose and control the fluid that was starting to build a month ago. We are also grateful to many of you for keeping us in your prayers. Thank you so much.