Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Hunter had an appointment with the cardiologist today. He was scheduled for another echo on his heart and EKG. From my updates in the past, Hunter had a heart condition called Pulmonary Hypertension. If anyone googled Pulmonary Hypertension, they would have read the same things that the doctor told me in September when he was diagnosed. Pulmonary Hypertension is a serious condition in the heart. Its a condition that could be fatal.

In September, they told me that not only does Hunter need oxygen for his chronic lung disease (BPD), but also for his Pulmonary Hypertension. They told me that Pulmonary Hypertension changed everything for Hunter. This is when they broke it to me that Hunter wouldn't come off oxygen anytime soon. I was also told that Pulmonary Hypertension does not go away, it is just a managed condition of the heart. (Remember I said this...because I'm getting to my point) They told me that if his lungs resolved itself, Hunter would probably need to be on oxygen for a couple years because of his heart. Hunter had a recheck in October. His echo looked good. The doctors were more reassuring in October that a couple years might be an exaggerated estimate.

We'll his appointment was today. I think we are witnessing another miracle. Remember, the whole "managed condition". His echo was better than that. There is no trace of Pulmonary Hypertension whatsoever in Hunter's echo. The doctor withdrew his diagnosis of Pulmonary Hypertension. The new diagnosis is: Hunter's heart is healthy. This is wonderful news. The doctors are beginning the process of weening him off of Viagra. They did not adjust his dosage and will wait for him to outgrow the dose he's on. This shouldn't take long. He is halfway there. In addition, the cardiologist gave the "okay" for Hunter to come off oxygen - but he still needs the approval through his pulmonary (lung) doctors. It's not going to be long folks. Hunter can hold his oxygen stats up. The one thing that held pulmonary back from doing the sleep studies and oxygen tests was his need for oxygen due to the Pulmonary Hypertension. Gosh, what a miracle!

Hunter's Pulmonary appointment is next Tuesday. I can't wait to discuss the next steps with them