kinda good different though.
If you know where I work you'd know how hard it is to get a raise. But, today I found out I got promoted!! Reclassified really, but more money and a different title. I had applied for the reclass this summer because of the duties I'd assumed awhile back. These don't get approved very often and if they do they're after positions get vacated or they take so long the employee forgets about them. Believe it or not 5 months is really, really fast.
I came in after Cole's appointment to a note to see my supervisor ASAP. She brought me to her supervisor's office and they both looked so serious I got worried. Not sure what about, but worried. They handed me an email and asked that I read it to make sure I agreed. I kept thinking what the heck did someone say about me. But, it was the email from personnel saying what my salary would be and that I was approved. It's not a huge increase, but enough that I can put a little more in Brian's retirement, so I'm glad. And maybe, after my 6 month increase, enough to also cover adding Brian to my insurance for 2013.
Cole had a good cardiology appt. Just different. I took him again this year because technically he's supposed to go once annually. But since we had been in February and our deductible was met it could save us money if he doesn't have to go next year. If he's good to go after today he can wait until January 2014. Today he felt his ankles checking for edema. This will be one of the first signs of failure if he gets outward signs. So far he has no major symptoms, but we all know he's on borrowed time. Really he's way past that. 15 years after your first tet repair and still not having a valve is totally unheard of. I asked him if he'd make it to age 20 and he said he didn't think so. He did his echo and EKG and said they looked like his right ventricle was tolerating the leakage still. He said that basically (since he has no pulmonary valve) his valve is wide open and just contantly regurgitating everything. But his ventricle is still working well enough. We talked about surgery times and I told him the time of year, if we have enough time to make a choice, will be up to Cole so he can enjoy whatever time he wants to. Cole told Dr. R that he wanted to hopefully wrestle his senior year even if it meant missing his junior year. Dr. R told him he could actually return to wrestling 6 months post surgery. I was so shocked. Cole, though, decided a little more soberly tonight that he wants/needs his surgery before he's a junior to give himself more time to acclimate his body back and then wrestle his senior year. He's hoping for surgery this summer now. It seemed so far off until today!
I know we're getting close because Dr. R said he's taking Cole's case to present to the team. He said he still feels good just watching him one more year, but he was to make sure the other cardiologists and the cardiothoracic surgeons agree. So he will be bringing Cole's MRI from 2011 and today's EKG/echo results for them to give their opinions. He's going to call me next week and let me know what's going on. Cole said if he can't have his surgery next summer he wants to wait for the next one. He said he just doesn't want to wrestle if he doesn't have a year to recover. I think he's starting to get a big nervous in the reality of it all. I'm only nervous that he's nervous. I don't want him to worry too much, but that's like someone telling me not to worry. It's not fair to say that to someone in this situation. Your baby is everything and this isn't tubes in their ears or something minor like his appendectomy. This is OPEN-HEART SURGERY! It is scary and serious. He's only 15!
But, we'll wait until next week and see what he says and then we'll have a better idea of what's going on. Regardless, I know our time until surgery is now very short. As I look forward to him graduating from high school in 2 1/2 years, I know that some time in that time he will go through a major thing in his life and he will be scared. I can try to reassure my baby, but he's still scared and he has the right to feel that way. I just can't believe it's almost time.
I had also asked him if this was Cole's last open-heart since once he has his conduit in and he's just about full-grown he should be able to get valve replacements by caths after this. He said unless things really change a cath replacement will save him 1 or so over his lifetime, but it's definitely not his last open-heart. This is why his heart holding out for 15 years without a surgery is so big. It's so bad for you and your heart to have multiple open-heart surgeries. And as of today he's put on 20 lbs in the last year and is now 5' 11". And he's still growing!
No comments:
Post a Comment