"How is Lilly?"

I've had so many people asking how Lilly is doing.  As you can see in this picture, she is having a great summer.  She is learning how to swim, taking gymnastic lessons, and doing all the things healthy 3-year-olds do.  Our cardiologist told us that Lilly's type of heart problem is one of the hardest things for parents to understand.  Lilly looks great!  Lilly feels good!  If she had more serious congenital heart disease -- the kind that makes kids turn blue or pass out, or somehow limits their activity -- it would be much easier for us to understand why such a risky surgery is important.  In Lilly's case, closing her VSD now will prevent valve damage in the future that could lead to heart failure.  It's also a much more complicated surgery to replace a valve than just to patch a hole.  It is a true case of an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure.   

So ... until we have our surgery date, we will stick with the swim lessons and summer play dates.