If I had a quarter...

for every single doctor and exam where Aspen's heart murmur was missed- I would be rich.

Mid May when we returned from San Diego, the trio got sick. Of course I immediately self diagnosed swine flu and took the to the doctor. My Ped is great-slightly odd and quirky, and aside from the one odd scarlet fever diagnosis, is pretty darn good.

So the fact that he caught a heart murmur that had never been mentioned before was something that caught us off guard. Sure, it slipped by the 5 previous visits to him, but hey, the 6th one was the charm. After all, why wouldn't it have been picked up by one of the NICU doctors who examined her every day for 3 months?

So yesterday, after waiting a month, we finally saw the cardiologist. He was amazed that it had never been picked up before, but quickly realized that the location made it almost impossible to see from the ultrasound (behind the breastbone), yet easily more noticeable from an auditory standpoint.

So he diagnosed her with a muscular Ventricular Septal Defect. Thankfully, it is a pin hole size, and he is optimistic that it should be completely closed in the next 2 years, avoiding any surgical intervention.

He also cleared her for her upcoming tendon lengthening surgery in mid July, since she has not gained the abduction results that the Ortho would like to see. He is concerned that the tightness could compromise the positioning of her hips. At least she will not be in a cast this time, but only a brace. Which is good, considering I just loaded up on tutus!