Update on the boy's heart: reality check

Although Blake's heart looks great, it's time for us to start thinking about what's next for him. It's been over two years since he's had heart surgery,and it's easy to get used to life outside the hospital.

One of the main procedures as part of Blake's last surgery was to augment his aortic arch from underneath to provide more room for blood flow. In his last cardiology visit they noticed that the flow from the natural part to the augmented part was slightly different. They called the difference mild but noticeable.

A couple of months before his next surgery (Spring 2011) they will do a cardiac catheter and will attempt to stretch the aorta with a balloon. We will wait a couple of months for this to heal and reassess the flow.

He will undergo his third and final open heart surgery (the Fontan procedure) next Summer. If the cath balloon is successful they will not need to re-operate on the arch, if it's not successful it may complicate the Fontan.

We have mixed emotions. We have always known this day was coming, so it is nice to have 6-9 months of warning/prep. But at the same time we are used to normal life with our little guy and this is a brutal reminder of just how fragile he is.