Areli Is Full of LOVE.... But Not A Lot Of Fat..

Mito can affect multiple organs, especially ones high energy functioning like the heart. So today we went to see the cardiologists at Children's to look at heart involvement. Areli had an echocardiogram and a EKG done, which she did great at. What did they find you ask? Well they found a WHOLE LOT OF LOVE in that little heart of hers! But on a serious note pertaining to her mito her heart is looking/pumping great. Unrelated, they did find a PDA or Patent Ductus Arteriosus. The ductus arteriosus is a leftover fetal artery connecting the aorta and pulmonary artery. If this artery stays open after birth, it's called a patent ductus arteriosus. So if you're not a medical student, this means that there is a "leak" in her heart. In utero, the ductus arteriosus brings blood away from the lungs (since the baby doesn't need to breath), every baby is born with it, but since the opening is no longer needed it closes a few days after birth. It is common in premature babies for the ductus arteriosus to to remain open, but rare in full term babies. In a child with PDA extra blood gets pumped from the aorta into the pulmonary arteries, which can lead to the heart and lungs working harder and lungs can becoming congested. Areli has a relatively small opening, so we are hoping it will close on its own, otherwise a devise will be put in to close it off.

Even though her heart is full of love, her body is not full of fat. She is up about one ounce since her 9 month check up. One ounce in 3.5 months and this girl can EAT! She went from the 80th percentile to the 10th percentile, completely dropped off the growth curve. With the amount of calories she takes in and lack of weight gain we are concerned something is wrong. So we will take another trip to see Dr. M her GI specialist to try to figure out whats going on. Hopefully we can figure it out before she gets too skinny. I'm worried about this. Until next time.....

Love, 

Mama Linnea