What do you say, Doctor?

First of all, I want to write a thank you to all of you who have written encouraging comments and notes in response to my previous post. And thanks to all of you who prayed for our attachment. Last weekend especially, I often felt lifted up by your prayers, as my heart felt a rush of genuine affection for Isabelle that I didn't have before. It felt supernaturally granted! 

I also wanted to give an update on Isabelle's medical condition. We drove to St. Louis a week ago on Thursday to have our first cardiology visit in the U.S. to better assess her condition. After x-rays, an EKG, and an echocardiogram, we had hoped for a definitive answer as to whether or not she's a good candidate for surgery but, unfortunately, there wasn't a clear answer this time. We were also hoping that the doctors in China had been wrong about the size of the holes in her heart, but the echocardiogram confirmed what we had been told previously. 

A hole this large should have been fixed within the first year of life–long before it had a chance to affect her lungs–but since it has been left untreated for years, it makes her case a bit more involved. So, next week, we're off to St. Louis again to get a catheterization done, so that they can see more clearly what's going on in her heart and lungs. There is a chance, albeit small, that the high blood pressure in her lungs would make her ineligible for surgery to fix her heart. I don't completely understand the why's, but hopefully I never have to. 

So, you prayer warriors out there, you can pray that the doctors will give her a green light to get her little heart fixed! She'll be getting that done on Thursday. Oh, and please also pray for safety (and sanity!) on our five-hour drive there and back. :)