Tag Archives: Dr. Armsby

Before and After

04 Sunday May 2014

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

, , ,

Iris had her second balloon dilation on Friday in an effort to allow more blood to flow to her left lung. Her open-heart surgery resolved the larger issues associated with her congenital heart defect and tracheal stenosis, but there remains diminished blood flow to her left lung as a result of these conditions. Her first balloon dilation was back in September and the improvement from then to now is so dramatic that pictures communicate far more than I can.

Here is a photo from her balloon dilation that Dr. Armsby performed in September that shows normal blood flow to her right lung (shown on the left in the photo), and diminished blood flow to her left lung:
Dilation2014-6

And here is the photo from yesterday:
Dilation2014-2

Absolutely spectacular!

The photos are taped to my refrigerator for now, but there’s a strong possibility I will enlarge and frame them. Those beautiful branches in the photos are filled with blood flowing to Iris’ lungs. And is it ever flowing. She still doesn’t have normal flow, but from where she started to where she is now is nothing short of remarkable.

Here is Iris before her procedure with her Blazer rally towel: (and right before Dr. Kelly Ryan, our favorite anesthesiologist, walked into the room)
Dilation2014

Solana giving her a good luck kiss:
Dilation2014-4

And in recovery after her procedure:
Dilation2014-6

Recovery is my least favorite part of the day. Iris wakes up scared, in pain, and attached to heart monitors, her IV, and a myriad of other equipment and tubes. I’m thankful that they’ve always allowed me into the recovery room before she wakes up. I’m the first person she sees when she opens her eyes, and her little hands immediately reach out for me. Solana came into recovery with me this time and stood next to Iris’ bed, gently stroking her hair and whispering to her. The nurse was a little teary-eyed watching this scene play out. I’m so proud of both my girls.

We’ll follow up with Dr. Armsby in a month, and Iris will have a lung scan in the fall. Based on the success of the balloon dilations so far, Dr. Armsby thinks we may be able to wait 18 months before the next one .. fantastic news!

Iris is home resting, and I find myself pre-occupied in the kitchen .. staring at the most beautiful before and after photos I’ve seen.

The Red Thread

16 Monday Sep 2013

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

“An invisible red thread connects those destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstances. The thread may stretch or tangle, but never break.” – Ancient Chinese Proverb

As I sit in Iris’ room at Doernbecher tonight, I am reminded of this proverb. An invisible red thread connected me to both of my daughters and them to each other. At the right time. At the right place. Life has presented challenges and tested every part of my core, but I honestly cannot imagine my life any other way. It is exactly how it was meant to be and, even on challenging days, I feel grateful.

So today’s news:

The balloon dilation went well. The complicated part is that the vessels coming off of Iris’ left pulmonary artery are severely hypoplastic and very close together. It makes ballooning them tricky because ballooning one might compress the other, making it difficult to get the wire in it to perform the balloon dilation. Dr. Armsby placed wires in two of the vessels before she ballooned them and was, therefore, able to balloon them both … but they’re still tiny and Iris will need future procedures. It’s the nature of her unique heart. Its imperfections are what makes it, and her, so strong and beautiful. At this point, Dr. Armsby plans to balloon the vessels once a year, and in 2-3 years they will be a sufficient size to have stents put in. The stents will be replaced every few years until Iris is fully grown. Nothing is certain, but this our plan as of today.

Here is a photo of Iris’ pulmonary arteries (the lines going up the left side of the photo are her sternal wires). You can see the line coming up from the bottom that the catheter followed to the larger opening. That opening is her main pulmonary artery, and the left and right pulmonary arteries branch off from it. The right pulmonary artery (shown left in the photo) is normal with great blood flow. It extends out and then branches off. The left pulmonary artery doesn’t extend out in the same way. Since it was wrapped around her trachea, part of it was removed … so those teeny tiny branches come off almost immediately, which is problematic:

Irisballoondilation

So today was a good day in the sense that we have a better understanding of our path. There will be plenty of doctors’ appointments and more procedures in her future, but Iris’ health is 180 degrees from where it was a few months ago … which takes me back to the red thread.

A red thread connected me to my daughters … but it also connected Dr. Langley, Dr. Rutter, Dr. Armsby, and Dr. Milczuk to us. At the right time. At the right place.

Here is Iris sleeping peacefully tonight in her hospital bed. I truly have more blessings than I can count:

IrissleepingDCH

Home Stretch

30 Friday Aug 2013

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

,

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:
Irisdocappt

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 …
IrisSolanaSF

We wish everyone a wonderful Labor Day weekend.

Hugs to all from the Hickey girls!

Back On Track

20 Tuesday Aug 2013

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

, , ,

Dear pneumonia … you didn’t stand a chance.

It lingered, but is now completely out of Iris’ system and she picked up right where she left off. She and Solana have been making the most of these gorgeous summer days.

summer2013 22 (2)

And … Iris got her ears pierced.

I took her to Claire’s and, after looking over the available earrings, she decided on the “rainbow daisies” … if you know me, you can imagine my delight. As Iris was sitting on my lap waiting to get her ears pierced, a large family gathered to watch. The grandma was outspoken (understatement) and decided to take bets, with her family and other customers, on whether or not Iris would cry. Normally I would have found her behavior rude, but instead I started giggling. And when the rough-around-the-edges grandma proclaimed loudly, “I betcha five bucks that little girl is gonna cry!” … I couldn’t contain my laughter. Really grandma?

I should have placed a wager but my reward was watching the astonished looks on their faces as Iris talked and smiled through both ear piercings. No tears. No flinching. Guess grandma failed to see the beautiful, and clearly visible, scar on Iris’ chest.

Mission accomplished Iris. She’s part super hero … squashing challenges and naysayers with her smile and charm.

summer2013 19 (2)

Iris’ medical journey continues next week with an ultrasound followed by a visit with Dr. Armsby. Her balloon dilation (and possible stent) procedure has been scheduled for September 16 and she’ll spend one night at Doernbecher so they can monitor her.

We continue to move forward. Our new normal is working out just fine … I honestly could not feel happier or more blessed.

Hugs to everyone.

Summer2013 006 (2)

Modern Medicine

20 Monday May 2013

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

, , ,

This week I visited with Dr. Stephen Langley, Doernbecher’s chief of pediatric cardiothoracic surgery.  He’s a guy that you pray you never need, but are grateful for if you ever do.  Dr. Langley showed me (and my wonderful sister who joined me for the appointment) the 3D CT images of Iris’ heart.  The images made our jaws drop.  Not because of her heart defect, but because the images were so detailed … they honestly didn’t look real.  Modern medicine is amazing!  I’ve seen images of pulmonary artery sling online and in medical books, but looking at my daughter’s heart while Dr. Langley described the repair was incredibly helpful.  I feel like I have a solid understanding of her heart condition and the necessary repair.

Her trachea is more complicated.  Here is a photo that shows her trachea coming down and then it branches into two bronchi.  The left bronchus (shown on the right) is significantly narrowed … and that’s an understatement.

Iristrachea

This is the tricky part.  There are only a handful of specialists experienced with this type of airway reconstruction.  But the team of doctors looking after Iris has great connections throughout the U.S. and beyond and I’m confident they will direct us to the surgeons that are the best fit for Iris.

Iris’ team includes Dr. Langley (who, interestingly, is involved with a non-profit that provides cardiac care to orphans in China .. Little Hearts Medical), Dr. Henry Milczuk (Iris’ otolaryngologist) and Dr. Laurie Armsby (Iris’ cardiologist .. she’s also involved with Little Hearts).  Words cannot describe how grateful I am to have such a remarkable team of doctors looking after my daughter.  They are reviewing her case again on Wednesday and hopefully I’ll have a better sense of direction at that time.

Thank you for your continued prayers and kind messages.  It means the world to us.