ZOE'S WALKING!!!!! I know I should have posted this a couple weeks ago, but in between opening another theatre production and Valentine's Day at Flowering Around, I haven't done much on the computer. Anyways, on Saturday January 29th, Zoe started walking and hasn't stopped. Jason and I had just gotten back from a birthday party for a friend, my parents had been watching Zoe and when we went to pick here up we were all sitting on the floor near her and I had her coat or somethign she wanted and my dad stood her up in front of me, and she took a hesitant step and so I backed up a step and she took another one and so on. Jason, my parents and I all got so excited and were cheerign which of course only egged Zoe on, and so for about 30 minutes she just walked back and forth between the 4 of us- AMAZING!!! It all happened so out of the blue. She has been so close for so long, but wasn't able to take that leap of faith, but perhaps some applause and a captive audience was all she needed. How great was it also that we were all there to witness it for the first time!
Walking has turned Zoe into a curious and constantly busy creature. She is now into everything and is not to be stopped. Her new favorite routine is to walk into the bathroom, sit on her potty chair, grab a piece of toliet paper, wipe off, get up and put it in the toilet, flush the toilet and then walk to the sink where she wants to wash her hands 20 times in a row. This routine can take place 10 times in a row- goody goody. Her new found talent has suddenly made her feel like a big kid, I think- not that we're complaining. She just turned 2 1/2 years old and we have finally made it tthroug two HUGE milestones: eating orally and walking. What a great start to 2011.
Everything else that has happened in the past few months seems to be forgotten in the face of walking. Zoe did have a bit of a respiratory virus around Christmas but she weathered it well. We didn'y have to go to the hospital and she was only on oxygen for two weeks instead of the month it took last year. Every year her lungs get a bit healthier.
Zoe just had her 3 month ECHO 2 weeks ago and we got great news. Her lung pressures have dropped again. When she was discharged from the hospital at 3 months old her pulmonary pressures were in the 100's. After being on Flolan for a year last April they were in the 70's and then last week they were at 57. This is still high- normal pressures are in the 30's, but a vast improvment. In fact she is doing so well and growing so well that we have scheduled surgery to have one on the ducts outside her heart repaired. She has always had what is called a PDA ( a duct outside her heart that didn't close properly). For a while when her lung pressures were higher this was actually benefical to her, but now it could potentially be harming her. She will have surgery on March 1st to plug the PDA. This is done through a cardiac cath and we should hopefully only be in patient for one night. By closing this duct, the hope is that the blood won't be able to shunt as easily and that her lung pressures will drop more. While we are never excited about the prospect of surgery, this one could be a huge step foprward for Zoe and her pulmonary hypertension.
Please send lots of prayers and happy thoughts our way for a smooth and easy surgery and a healthy next few weeks leading up to it.
