Things were easier the second time. It was almost as if he never left. Kyle continues to see his cardiologist (Dr. Peter Frommelt-who by the way is great with Kyle) and our Pediatrician (Dr. George Frommel-keep these two guys straight). His weight gain has been low but steady and we're told that is what is important. At 15 months he weighed 18 pounds 5 ounces. But his brother is skinny too so we don't worry too much. He has had almost all of his immunizations now. We are just waiting for his latest cold to go away to finish up and he will be right on track with those. He is on Aspirin, Digoxin and Captopril. He eats like a pig.
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We had a huge party for his 1st birthday. There were about 60 of his closest friends and relatives-okay so the party was more for Mom and Dad. It was a really tough year for our family and we would never had made it through it without our family and friends.
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Kyle has quite a personality. He makes us laugh and loves the attention he gets when he accomplishes a feat. He is a real go-getter and loves risk. His favorite toys are trucks and cars. (BRRRRRROOOM is all we hear.) He is enrolled in the Birth to Three Program and receives physical therapy and speech therapy once a week. He was doing an Army crawl until PT worked with him. Now he crawls, climbs, dives off furniture-you name it. He is not walking yet, but he cruises along furniture and the walls and attempts a few steps between Mom and Dad. His speech is coming along. He always said MAMA and DADA but now he says things like Quack Quack and Car (the "c" sound) and Truck (the "ck" sound) and the all important EEE for cookie. He will even say Eeeeiiii Eeeeiiii when you say Old MacDonald. He learned the sign for "me" and "more" which helps him communicate rather than screaming. He has recently started to put the "MMMM" sound with those signs. He recently was at Children's for a developmental screening and he is right on target with his mental capabilities. Physically he is comparable to an 11th month old but in due time he will catch up to his peers. His brother better watch out!!
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We are very lucky to have such a fighter on our hands. Kevin calls him "the little one" or "my baby". We are glad that we have two boys that can play together.
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We are also very grateful to have such an expert team of people working at Children's Hospital. There have been many people who not only helped Kyle get healthy, but also helped Mom and Dad make it through this difficult time. The amount of support given to parents is great. We know Kyle is in very capable hands.
The future for Kyle means another surgery and who knows what else. Within the last five years, the medical profession has come so far in saving these children. Previously there was not much hope for these children. Hopefully in the future when Kyle needs more, there will be an answer.
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