See you in a year!

Matthew's Heart!

That's what the cardiologist said to us today! Another echocardiogram was done on Matthew today and after reviewing the photos the doctor had good news and not so good news. The not so good news is that the fistula in Matthew's heart is still there. The good news is that, after six months, the cardiologist was able to determine that the hole is not in one of the heart's chambers but in the heart itself. If the fistula was in one of the chambers, as originally thought, then there would have been more concerns, possible surgery. But because it is not, we are cleared to come back in a year!

Now, we still have to monitor Matthew and he still needs to have antibiotics before any dental work or any surgeries, but his heart is in pretty good shape. I asked the doctor if Matthew was more than likely born with the heart issue and he quickly answered, "yes, it is congenital". This is just one more piece of information we now have on our son.

Once again, more proof that we don't always get the child we expect! When we adopt, just as when we give birth, we have to be prepared for ANYTHING, not just what is written on the scant medical report given to us by the CCAA (for China). We have been surprised, with all three of our chidren from China, with additional medical concerns. Grace has severe asthma, Analiese has burn scars and Matthew has a heart condition.

I ask myself if I had been given this information prior to accepting the referrals for my kids would I have gone through with the adoptions? With Grace probably not because we were just not at the "special needs" place yet. We only wanted a healthy child. And if we hadn't gotten Grace I'm not so sure there would have been an Analiese or a Matthew. Grace is wonderful and because of her we jumped right into a second adoption with Analiese!

I go right back to my belief that God's plan is such a good plan. He knows how much to give us and when to give it to us. The amazing thing is that we had looked at a file of a little boy with a heart condition before. We consulted with a cardiologist and he was so very positive about this child's condition. We ultimately realized that boy was not our son and returned his file (he has since come home and is VERY healthy with an extra digit on his hand that was not disclosed!) but I wondered if he was put in our path to understand and get comfortable with heart issues. God does work in such mysterious ways!