Heart

It is kind of ironic that Amalie has had to add a cardiologist to her list of specialists, given her brother's claim to fame. But in the end it has all turned out ok.

One of the PAs at the pediatrician's office noticed Amalie's heart murmur when Amalie was around six months old. Later, when the gastroenterologist listened to her heart, he turned to us and said "so how has the pediatrician said her heart is?", confirming that he also heard a murmur. We visited the pediatric cardiologist just to verify that nothing was horribly wrong. He did a 15-lead EKG, simultaneously providing us with an outstanding photo op of our "robo-baby". At the time, his conclusion was that the murmur was due to a kink in the aorta, and that the kink would work itself out when Amalie grew and her chest cavity became more accommodating for all of the stuff that needs to be there. He asked us to come back only if the murmur persisted at her one-year pediatrician's appointment.

At one year, the murmur was still there. Cardiologist visit number two was longer, because the EKG suggested that the anomaly was lower, which is an unusual thing for an infant. (Ventricles are supposed to be really strong!) After the longest and most boring ultrasound experience I have ever witnessed (Elmo and Cookie Monster couldn't even put a dent in Peanut's agony), the cardiologist announced that everything is perfectly fine structurally. The strange sound is apparently due to the heart being lodged at a funny angle up against something else. He said that the murmur will persist for several years before the heart has enough time to work its way loose. Sounds good to us!