10-11-10 5:45pm

So finally some moderate news. The cardiologist (Dr. Sabino) came by around 5pm and said that all her heart exams looked the same as they were on Friday - same is good. Here are the things that we learned from him:

1) The Ventricular Septal Defect that Riley has is not going to close on its own - which I guess these sometimes can. We didn't know that one of these could, so no loss to us there. We are going to have to prepare for surgery in 4-6 months to repair her VSD.

2) The valve that has on two flaps that is supposed to have three is not an issue now, but may be in the future. We don't know when in the future, but Riley will have to have a cardiologist for the rest of her life.

3) We will be putting Riley Rose on Lasix to get some of the excess fluid out from around her lungs which should help her breath better.

While the cardiologist was here, Dr. Dudley came by as well. At this time Riley was having some issues with reflux and the nurse and I mentioned that she only really had reflux coming out of one nostril (her left). Dr. Dudley did some quick exams and we found out that her right nostril may be smaller then the other. The palate is ok, but the opening of her nose might be small, which could also lead to her having difficulty breathing when she is feeding/having reflux. So we are going to get a CT scan on her nasal cavity and if there is a blockage then Dr. Dudley feels that it is a simple in and out type thing to clear it out, which would help her breath better. We will also be feeding her over an hour to help with her reflux - this is as opposed to the little one sucking down 40cc in 10 minutes when we were hand feeding her. Just like Mom always told us - rushing through eating is not a good thing for you, it took my 4 day old daughter to teach me something I've heard all my life.

Both the cardiology stuff and Dr. Dudley's stuff is to help her get home as the heart stuff is ok for now (obviously in relative nature). If she didn't have her heart issues Riley may still be having these breathing issues due to other things.

Considering it has been a really awful day, I am taking all the above as good news. Whether it is or isn't, it is going in the good column. Also, since the 2 docs have been here and gone, Riley Rose has been doing wonderfully.

Again - Michele and I want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all of the emails, phone calls, and posts. They are very much welcomed and helpful.