Countdown to the Cath

The last week of school upon us and life has been fun and full. The kids are looking forward to school ending this week and the days leading up to that seem full of field trips, parties and other celebrations. Tonight, we will join the ranks of proud parents as we attend Wilson’s 6th Grade Promotion—Jr. High is just around the corner.

In the midst of all of this, Rudy has been laying low. So low in fact, that we neglected to note his 8-month birthday here on Rudy’s Beat yesterday. Another milestone to note! He’s quietly getting fat and (we think) happy. This morning at the pediatrician he weighed in at 13lbs, 12oz, so his solid feeds are doing what they’re supposed to. This still has him well below the 5th percentile on the generic growth charts, but referring to anything to do with Rudy as “generic” seems out of place. He’s right where he needs to be on the Rudy Chart.

But enough for laying low—it’s time for a return visit to UCLA. Wednesday morning, Trish and Rudy will leave at 4:30am to head to UCLA for a 6:30am admittance. Rudy is scheduled to be the second procedure, but they like to have patients on hand and ready in case scheduling changes. This will be Rudy’s pre-Glenn catheterization, where Dr. Dan and Dr. Harake will enter from an artery in his groin to get a good look at the heart (an angiogram). They’ll measure pressures and flow in different areas and can even take some interventional steps in the event certain things are amiss. The team will use the information gleaned to develop a game plan for the Glenn, so we’ll await word as to how the next weeks are going to unfold.

Caths are commonly outpatient procedures, but in Rudy’s case we are being prepared for him to stay over one night for observation. As you feel led to pray for Rudy, please pray specifically for this—the procedure itself doesn’t cause us as much anxiety as simply having Rudy in the hospital for any length of time. From his history, we can’t help but worry if he’ll pull some kind of a trick or have some numbers amiss that will lead to another extended stay. Apart from this, we’re praying that a clear plan would emerge as we’re approaching June somewhat tentatively; unsure of when the surgery will take place and therefore unable to plan out very far. So, we’re looking forward to some clarity, but in the meantime we are so grateful for how special it’s been to have almost four full weeks at home with Rudy.

We’ll post updates as things unfold on Wednesday. I’ll be here in Santa Barbara. Fortunately, I’ll only have to battle preoccupation in my office for part of the day as I’ll be joining Livy’s class for a field trip at the zoo. It’s a welcome distraction and, given the how much of our absence the kids have had to accept this school year, I’m looking forward to time with Livy and her friends. I already have a good zoo joke ready to go: Why is a giraffe’s neck so long? Because it’s head is so far away from its body! Those first graders don’t even realize the comedic gold that awaits them.

Thanks for praying. Go, Rudy, Go!