A very sunny day

Emily's check-up today at Riley went very well. The ejection fraction was 66%, which is a magnificent number indicating her heart has kept pace with her maturing body. Now that she is basically done growing, and know her heart is performing so well, we'll back off on annual EKG/Echos to one every two years. Surviving kidney still performs just fine, so we're left only with some residual radiation concerns of the sort you would expect with a mature female.

Two things we did to push for a better number this time (you can't fool the machine but you can make sure you're not underperforming): 1) good night's sleep; and 2) plenty of hydration (dehydrated means thicker blood means harder to eject). Last year Em scored 49%, just below the concern line of 50%. But--again--there's no fooling the machine, and her daily elliptical workouts seem to have her in good shape.

So the discussion shifted to things like making sure she gets the right follow-up in college a year from now.

And so we get to enjoy her senior year without any big clouds hanging over our heads.

And that is nice.

Thanks for the kind thoughts.

Comments

[Kenneth Nalaboff]

Tom,The EF is just about perfect. Remember that you don't want it to get too high, since then you get into the range of diseases like hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Seems like clear skies ahead. She will get earlier than usual mammograms and generally more aggressive cancer screening in the future, but obvious a trade off that is more than worth the results she and her family have received.Ken Nalaboff, MD

[Tom Barnett]

That's pretty much what we heard, plus what you'd expect about pregnancies (by definition, high risk).

[Eddie]

Thank God she can enjoy her senior year with one less major concern hanging around, given how many there already are in the beginning of a major life transition period.

[D Blair]

Glad to hear everything is going good. Now all you have to deal with is a kid in college next year. Good luck!

[philibu]

That is great news.

[sue]

Hi,So glad to hear good news for you...lets hope for a good year for all of us.Keep up the great blogging, I read you every day.Sue

[Patrick O'Connor]

Great news. Bless you all.