Iris is entering the home stretch.

She had her echocardiogram yesterday and an appointment with Dr. Armsby. Her echo looked good. Dr. Armsby was pleased that Iris’ left lung is getting sufficient blood flow. That was a concern since her left pulmonary artery is so tiny. I was able to see the right pulmonary artery on the echo for comparison. The size difference is dramatic.

So the next step will be a procedure in the cath lab on September 16. Aside from follow-up appointments, this will be Iris’ last procedure. Dr. Armsby will perform a balloon dilation to increase the blood flow through Iris’ left pulmonary artery. The success of the balloon dilation will determine whether or not Iris will need a stent. Fingers crossed.

It’s hard to believe we just reached the 2 month anniversary of Iris’ open heart surgery. The only sign that she’s been through a major surgery is her beautiful scar. She’s healthy and strong, and breathing far better than she was prior to her surgery. In fact, earlier this week we were walking the dog and Iris started running. Really running. I knew she’d stop herself when she tired, so I let her go. She didn’t run far, but what mattered was that when she stopped she wasn’t panting. Solana watched in amazement and said to me, “Iris ran. She couldn’t do that before!” Running took too much out of Iris so she avoided it, along with other physical activities. She still can’t keep up with other kids .. but considering her remarkable recovery from having her heart repaired and her airway reconstructed .. it won’t be long before she’s keeping up. And passing by.

Here’s a picture of Iris and Barbie hanging out waiting for Dr. Armsby:

And here’s a picture of Iris and Solana on an airplane later last night. With Iris’ continued good health, I finally felt comfortable venturing beyond arms-length from the good doctors at Doernbecher, so we hopped a flight to San Francisco for the holiday weekend …

We wish everyone a wonderful Labor Day weekend.

Hugs to all from the Hickey girls!