Friday, December 11, 2009

Christmas concerts and hearts




Yesterday I took Han to see her gorgeous cardiac pediatrician. This man will always have a special place in the heart of our family. I first saw him when I was 22 weeks pregnant - and terrified. He was calm, reassuring and gentle and DH and I liked him immediately. Today he gave Han a clear bill - there is still a small mitral valve leak but as he repeated a few times it was a 'beautiful repair'.

That heart that keeps her on the go, the reason we can still have this gorgeous girl in our lives was on display today. I had to take her to work with me after the drs appointment (cos I had to leave work early as it was for the brat's preschool concert!) so with trepidation I took er with me to a meeting. Now I generally don't work on the days we have most of our meetings so if someone (and many have) been employed with us since 2004 - I probably don't know them - especially if they are in a different faculty. Anyhoo - one person I don't know was staring (or glaring?) at us for quite some time which was disconcerting!! I had Han on my lap drawing (I didn't have a key role in the meeting or anything). A 'young' man (30s!) was sitting next to me and after a few minutes he asked a little awkwardly "Is she Down Syndrome?" I affirmed his diagnosis - and the smile - Lordy! Turns out he has a sister (now mid 20s) who used to look 'just like Hannah'. He asked about her heart - yes he was clearly 'from the community' so to speak and he proceeded when he could to engage Han's attention - she just took to him - his ease was obvious and soon she was giggling and teasing him back - as he and I also kept an ear on the meeting and contributed as necessary (not much). I wonder if anyone complained? Oh well - it's called being 'family friendly' - not ideal but manageable. She wasn't disrupting everyone or being loud. I did however leave the meeting as early as I could.

Then we went to preschool for the twin's concert. It was wonderful. The teachers had done a great job - the kids sang and danced beautifully. Some of the parents had a tear in their eye - these kids have grown up so much. Hannah participated beautifully and was of course so cute. Today is their last day there - another door closes.

2 comments:

Beth said...

It's always nice to get the "All Clear" from the cardio. My Hannah has slight regurgitation of her mitral valve as well. It's much better than before she had her repair.

It sounds like the kids are enjoying school!

Christina M said...

Hugs to you!