Aerial Tram

We had a laid-back day settling in at home, unpacking, and hanging out with Neal and Anna. Late this afternoon we all took A up to the children's hospital where I work, as she had a cardiology appointment. She's had a heart murmur detected since age three, but at a recent routine appointment our family doctor thought she noticed a slight change in it, and referred us for further diagnostics. I was expecting a quick check with a stethoscope, and envisioned that Ben, Neal, Anna, and E could grab a coffee while A and I went to the appointment, and then we would take our visitors on a tour of my workplace.

However, the clinic was running behind, and then the cardiology fellow thought the murmur sounded largely benign, but also a bit strange, and wanted to be extra thorough by doing an echocardiogram. Afternoon stretched into evening, and it was a bit stressful, but A came away with a clean bill of health, and it's nice to have the peace of mind. The reason that her murmur sounded "strange" is that she actually has two separate murmurs, both benign, both likely to be something she grows out of, but separate and one is really only detectable when she's laying in certain positions, so it hadn't been caught previously.

The most surreal part of the experience for me was sitting in the dark, quiet EKG room, watching and listening to my oldest's heart pumping on screen. It reminded me so much of the Doppler and ultrasounds I had while pregnant with her, except this time, that precious heartbeat wasn't coming from somewhere in my abdomen, but from its own independent, beautiful being, laying on a cot watching Blue's Clues, with electrodes and wires connected to her, with really no sense of the worry nagging at me.

After the loooonnnnng appointment was finally completed, Neal, Anna, A, and I took a ride on the aerial tram and enjoyed the nighttime cityscape. Ben and E (who has been on the aerial tram before and isn't a fan!) met us at the bottom with the car, and we all enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Spaghetti Factory.