Dr. Cooley visit.

I know so many of you have been waiting patiently for this post. I think I have finally recovered from the whirlwind of activity and emotion. We had a really awesome trip. I am still in awe of how this whole thing worked out. It just fell into place like it was meant to be. We arrived at the hospital two hours early (Yes, I know, very unlike us!). I had planned for the worst possible traffic and conditions, but everything went beautifully. We just decided to walk around and the first turn we took led us right to the museum at the Denton A Cooley Building at the Texas Heart Institute. It was so amazing. I know I have said this to a few people, but we really take for granted heart surgeries and artificial valves and heart transplants etc., like they are something we just expect to happen. We were so fortunate to be seeing the man who pioneered many of these things. For instance, a book in a case was titled "Surgical Treatment of Aortic Aneurysms" by Denton A. Cooley. The man we were going to see wrote the book! Too awesome!

As for the appointment, it was much like any other with one exception. When he came through the door, every staff member in the office stood and did not sit until he had gone! It was quite impressive. He was shocked to see Mark sitting in the room. (No, he didn't recognize him) His first words were, "Well you look like you are in great shape." In a nutshell, that was the basis for recommending that we not do anything. Mark is doing so well and has no symptoms of pain, high blood pressure, valve failure or anything else. He said that when weighing the risk of the surgery, the risk was to great to take considering how well he is doing. He feels that the aorta might have been enlarged for some time as this can occur in people with the congenital defect that Mark had. Apparently whatever causes the aortic valve to be defective also alters the makeup of the aorta making it more prone to aneurysm. He said that we couldn't solely rely on the size of the aneurysm in Mark's case because of the other factor's that make the surgery a greater risk. As far as long term, the key will be to keep Mark's blood pressure low and refrain from strenuous activity. He did give him a little breathing room allowing him to do some things, but not to overdo anything.

We are so happy that he does not have to endure the stress of that surgery. I will say that this decision is another huge leap of faith for me. While I am glad that he is not going to undergo surgery and the risk it entails, the reality is that the risk of the aneurysm is still the same. I know that God is looking for our total trust. I just pray for His help each day to overcome my human fears. I know that He will provide all that we need, each day, all the time.

Where we are now, your guess is as good as ours. We thing that we will wait for a follow up scan prior to doing Mark's final bowel surgery. That should be either the end of October or November. That will be into Royal Theater play time, so it may be after the first of the year that the next surgery occurs. That is a tentative plan, but there are no definites at this point.

I do know that the Brown's will be laying low. We are going to be out of the spotlight for a while. We are going to get back to just work and kids and recovery for a while. It has been a long 11 months and we are a little weary and looking forward to some kind of normalcy. This could mean a little hiatus from the blog for a while. I will update with any news or changes in the plan, but otherwise, it will be very limited. I thank all of you so much for all of your support. You are so dear to us and we certainly have felt your presence each step of the way. We appreciate your continued prayers as we sort through these final stages.

Love to all, Missy