Gabe's Heart

A little over a week ago Gabe had his "big" heart check up with pediatric cardiologist Dr. Finta. He was scheduled for an EKG, a consultation with the doctor, and an echocardiogram. He hadn't had an echo since he was just a month old, and this test was supposed to tell us if his atrial septal defect (small hole in the right side of his heart) was closed, or small enough to leave alone, or in need of repair. Here's the story from Gabe's perspective.

When we gotted to the doctor's office we went in a little room where a lady tolded me to pull up my shirt so she could put tape on my belly. I like to pull up my shirt.

But it was tricky of her to tell me to do a fun thing and not tell me what was tape on my belly. It was stickers. And when she put stickers on me I did NOT like that at all. I am learning lots of letters and words and EKG does not spell stickers!

I cried but it only tooked a little bit and I could be done. Then I wented to see the doctor and I wasn't too sure I liked her because maybe she would sticker my belly, too. When she tried to be nice I just looked at her and didn't want to smile a bit.

She wanted to see my belly, too, and because I forgotted about the stickers I let her see it, but she was nice to me.

She wanted to see me tongue too and I can do that easy.

After Mama talked to her we went to see a man. I couldn't believe it but he wanted to see my belly, too! What is it with doctors and bellies?


I had to lay on a table for a million hours and the man looked at my heart with a flashlight that didn't have a light. I got to have jelly on my belly to make his flashlight work and it made lots of pretty pictures on his TV. He gave me a TV, too, but he forgotted the DVD player so I couldn't watch my "apple" (that's what I call my favorite movies). I love to watch "apple" so much I try to get in the TV.

But I couldn't watch it so I had to watch a yucky movie about Rugrats. I only cried a little bit. After a million hours (but Mama said it only was one but I don't think she looked at the clock cause one is a little time and I had to sit there for a big time) we went to see the lady doctor again. She said my hole wasn't too big, only as big as a nickel. I think nickels is huge! She said it has to be fixed. She said maybe I would have to cut my heart open and sew it and sew the "ductus" (I like ducks lots and can say "quack quack" and make the duck sign but this is a bad duck but it would be OK if I only had a duck and not a nickel and the thing that she really has to fix is the nickel). But she said if I''m big enough (I'm 27 pounds and 2 feet 8 inches so I think I'm big) I can have a catheter and put a thing in my leg and put a umbrella in the hole to make it plug. I don't want any ducks or nickels or 'brellas either!

Dr. Finta said that more doctors would have to look at my heart pictures and tell me how they will fix my hole. She told me that I'm a strong boy and I don't have a sick heart and my lungs are happy and that is her best news. She said I can wait to be bigger for my fixes. That is a very good thing to the Gabe so I smiled big at her and went home and put on a party hat to celebrate!