Today we had our appointment with the cardiologist for Jonathan. Although we didn't expect anything to be wrong, we wanted to rule out the possibility that a heart condition has been contributing to his lack of appetite and poor weight gain.
They gave him a quick exam and then hooked him up to an EKG machine. The assistant had us take off Jonathan's shirt so she could place the contacts on his upper body. He seemed to find the ordeal amusing, since he thought we were just placing stickers all over his body.
The cardiologist came in and listened to his heart after the EKG was done. He was probably in the room for less then 5 minutes and told us that everything seemed fine to him. He mentioned that Jonathan did seem to have a Still's Murmur, which combined with the EKG was just the sign of a strong, young heart.
A murmur isn't anything to be concerned about in and of itself. The strict definition of a murmur is an additional sound present when listening to the heart. Sometimes it could just be the sound of blood flowing through a normal heart; other times the sign of something more serious. It's an observation not a diagnosis. So, based on Jonathan's EKG and a physical exam, the doctor quickly ushered out of his waiting room.
On the way out we overheard him talking to someone, saying that everything seems to be normal from his end...AND, that any weight gain issues might have something to do with the size, or lack thereof, his parents. I guess since Jonathan was playing like crazy in the waiting room proved to them that he doesn't suffer from a lack of energy related to a heart condition.
We didn't expect to find anything. This could be our last specialist. We are hopeful that we're in the home stretch and the only thing now left to do is to get Jonathan off of the g-tube. If you're interested in reading a good article on heart murmurs, click on the link below.