This past week brought some welcomed changes on the medical front. I was able to talk to Natalia's cardiologist and gain some answers to our concerns and questions.
The tiredness should NOT have been chronic, and the doctor agreed that we should take Natalia off of the medication immediately. I also asked her to rate the severity of the leakage, for both last year and this year. With 1 being very minor and a 10 very serious, Natalia was between 1-2 last year. This year, a 3. (I immediately began kicking myself for not calling sooner.)
We value and recognize the importance of medicine and certainly do not shun it, but it is not the first thing we run to, or always the best solution. We try to look at our health in a holistic fashion, appreciating that God has designed our bodies to heal itself much of the time if we are caring for it appropriately, but we also know that our daughter wouldn't be alive today but for the grace of God and the advances made in modern medicine.
It's been a discerning process to know how aggressive we should be regarding Natalia's heart, and we appreciate all of you who have been praying for us. The last two weeks have not felt as emotionally heavy, we've gained clarity to know what questions to ask, and we are seeing God's hand of provision in a multitude of ways.
Through a series of circumstances, she will be seeing a different cardiologist from now on--the one that was our first choice when we moved to PA four years ago in fact. Also, despite my delay in calling the doctor and possibly saving us from a few weeks of all of this, God has been softening my heart and giving me greater patience in the way that I relate to my daughter. For that I am very thankful. (How comforting it is to know that God is sovereign and can use our weaknesses and mistakes for His ultimate good.)
We've noticed an immediate improvement in Natalia's energy level and mood in the last few days. She is once again greeting the dawn in her usual cheerful fashion instead of obstinately burrowing under the covers. She hasn't been as spacey at preschool, and our afternoons at home have been much more pleasant. There are some residual behavorial issues to address, but we expected that.
Thank you again for your prayers for Natalia and for us!
5 comments:
So glad to hear this! I so resonate with the process of learning to ask good questions of our doctors and specifically our children's doctors. For some reason I just thought moms just "know." I'm discovering that moms are learning to be moms every day.
Thanking God for his grace and mercy. Happy Mother's Day, cousin, you are a GREAT mom!
Oh, Krista, what an answer to prayer! I'm so glad you've noticed such positive changes in Natalia already. One thing I've learned as I've navigated through lots of pediatric doctors and specialists is that you have to be your child's advocate, because you can't count on anyone else to do it. You know Natalia better than any of the doctors, and I applaud you for being so well informed in posing your questions and concerns. Maybe we'll see you guys in clinic sometime in the future, if I'm working that day...
What a blessing that God prompted you to seek out answers...and giving you the right questions to ask.
It sounds like the sun will be shining in your home for a long time with the cloud gone!
So glad to read all of this.
And, you know I can say "ditto" to everything you wrote...every bit of it. We're right there with you, friend. ;)
Wonderful!!
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