A Second Opinion

St. Nicholas Day (December 6th) was the date of our second opinion on Jarrett's heart.

Once we were dressed and ready to go, the boys and I headed up to Denver. Jarrett and I had an appointment with a different pediatric cardiologist to get a second opinion on his valve. Dad kept Zephyr for me while Jarrett and I ran up to Aurora for the Children's Hospital.

It was all decked out for Christmas with whimsical Christmas trees all around. Jarrett posed in front of one of them:

He played in the waiting room for a while:

When the nurse took us back to one of the rooms, she showed us that they had drinks and snacks available if we wanted them. After a potty break, Jarrett chose a package of Gold Fish crackers and some juice:

We first talked to a resident and then he went and talked to the doctor and then both of them came back to talk to us some more. They mostly just reviewed the tests that were already run back at the beginning of October. I liked talking with both of them better than the surgeon; I felt heard and felt that I was getting actual answers. Basically, they said that we don't have to do the surgery immediately, but that it will need to be done before he gets to be a teenager. We discussed the pros and cons of doing it sooner rather than later.

I took all the information I gleaned and discussed it with Matt. We are sending his records to his doctor in Dayton. Dr. Connor will review them and give us his advice as well. I just don't want to have Jarrett go through surgery without thoroughly investigating and getting all the facts.