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Sunday, June 28, 2009

A Clean Bill of Health!

Last week was Garrett's latest visit to St. Louis Children's Hospital for his every-six-months, post-transplant follow up.  On Monday, he had a physical therapy assessment, a chest x-ray and an echocardiogram in preparation for a new procedure on Tuesday -- heart catherization and balloon dilation of his pulmonary arteries. 

Garrett did well during the heart cath and, although the cardiologist was pretty sure he'd need stents put in to open up the narrowed areas where his lungs are stitched in to his pulmonary arteries, we were pleasantly surprised that ballooning popped them right open.  Chris and I got to see before and after video of the blood flow through these areas, and it was amazing.  Although Garrett was not really having a huge problem with his blood pressures, the pulmonary arteries, especially on his left side, resembled linked sausage where the narrowing was located.  Now, they are wide open.

Garrett was admitted for an overnight following the heart cath and the pulmonary function tests were conducted the next day.  His transplant team didn't see any indication of rejection or infection, so Garrett was able to skip having a bronchoscopy and biopsy this time.  That was great news!  So it was a good trip and we'll head back in another six months.  In the meantime, Garrett's back to being your typical 3 1/2 year old.  Stay tuned for more adventures...

Read Garrett's Story >>

My name is Liam, and I want to tell you about my baby brother Garrett.  My lungs are ok, but Garrett's lungs were sick.  It was hard for him to breathe, so he had to go on a big airplane to St. Louis to get new lungs. I… Read More >>