Clinic Update

Maggie saw the cardiologist today for a follow-up to surgery. Apparently I had misunderstood how well her lungs were doing last time; the last appt merely showed the left lung to be no longer collapsed. Today's x-ray looked better than last time. The nurse reported to the doctor that it sounded like Maggie had a "squeaky tennis shoe" in her chest. The doctor used it as a chance to teach the nurse about the tail-end of liquid in the lungs after a collapse. He says that little pocket of liquid is "rattling around in there" now that her lungs have improved so much, whereas last time he couldn't hear the squeaky rattle because there was other gunk to listen through. I phoned up Matt and told him to be sure to bring his stethoscope when he comes over tomorrow night; he gets to listen to all sorts of cool chest-sounds that the other med school students don't have available.

Things look good. Even the funny chest noise is not a problem, the doctor said. Maggie has gained eight pounds in the last 6 weeks. Of course, she lost a lot of weight with surgery and the resultant lung problems, so altogether she's only gained four pounds over the last three months. Doctor said kids often gain a lot of weight after surgery. Oxygen and a properly functioning heart seem --for some odd reason-- to have a big effect on kids' growth and health. Go figure.

Saturday the hospital will be hosting a lecture/workshop on special-needs trust funds, estate planning, guardianships, and government benefits & programs. So we're going to go listen to what sort of possibilities are out there for the future.