Health Updates

Just a quick message to update you on the Gmyr family now that we've both been to the doctors.

Dan's diagnosis came back with two problems. Mitral Valve Prolapse, and Patent Foramen Ovale. Neither of these are life threatening. PFO, is where the foramen ovale, a shunt in the heart of an unborn baby that allows blood to pass between the left and right sides of the heart (since blood doesn't flow through the baby's lungs), doesn't close completely within a year of birth. The mitral valve is what prevents blood from flowing the wrong direction in the heart. In Dan's case the valve doesn't completely shut allowing a small amount of backflow. MVP, while named for the mitral valve in the heart, isn't actually caused by it. Doctors have concluded that the defect is more a physical sign that the problem exists. It is also very possible that the MVP may be the cause of the migraines. At the present the only thing the cardiologist can recommend is a daily aspirin regimen and certain antibiotic should he ever have dental work done.

Karen has checked out fine at the OB/GYN. No complications have been reported. In fact everything seems to be going slightly ahead of schedule. While we were originally given a due date of May 22nd and that has migrated all the way to the 27th, the doctorhas informed us that she doesn't think we will even get that far. Karen is already slightly dilated, Gabriel is head down and pretty low in the abdomen. In other words we may be looking at mid-May rather than late-May. Don't worry, we're still planning on having the baby blessing on the 3rd of July. Let us know how many would like to come so that we can help plan for guests. For more amusing news, Karen narrowly avoided having two baby showers. One surprise shower was planned for the 7th, but when the person holding it received an invitation for the one on the 30th and discovered several individuals were invited to both a decision was made to combine them. We say this is amusing because we hadn't anticipated having even one.

Lots of love to all,

- Dan & Karen

Recent Developments

Just thought I'd take a quick moment to fill everyone in on recent developments. We still haven't heard anything from Dan's cardiologist and his appointment was pushed back a week for some reason. Again, when we hear something we'll let you know. In the meantime, please, don't worry. He's doing well.

I've given some more thought to when we'll have the baby blessing. More than likely we'll have it the weekend of July 3rd. I wanted to give you enough time to make vacation/travel arrangements, but didn't want to have it too close to the due date in case Gabriel's late in arriving. I also didn't want to conflict with the Reunion in August. I'm also planning on inviting Dan's family. Please, let me know if you'd like to try and come so we can determine how many we can try to accommodate.

For those of you interested, one of the sisters in the ward has mentioned throwing Gabriel a baby shower. It will most likely be the weekend of April 30th. I don't know if any of you want to try and attend, but I thought I'd give you the option. Please, let me know so I can arrange for you to receive an invitation.

Lots of love,

- Karen

Alive and kicking in Arizona (some kicking more than others)

Yes, it's true. We still exist. I just wanted to send out an email to let you all know the latest news in our small family. I'm not sure where I left off or how long it's been since I've written (sorry) so I'll cover a few basics I think I've mentioned and then fill you in on the details.

As you all know we're expecting a boy, Gabriel Ryan, around the end of May. The pregnancy is going well. There have been no complications (other than heartburn) to report. Daniel and I attended a one-day birthing class this past Saturday and we learned a lot of things to help us prepare for the labor and delivery. We will be attending a Newborn Care class next Thursday so that we will be able to guess correctly what to do after Gabriel's born. We have also signed up to tour the birthing center this weekend.

The most recent news concerns Dan's health. In January we both went for follow-up check-ups with our PCP. Everything looked fine, but Dan's heart sounded odd. The doctor described it as a click. He referred Dan to a cardiologist. When we called to make the appointment the earliest we were able to schedule was March 14th. So on the 14th we saw the cardiologist who confirmed the odd "click" and, based on Dan's family history, suggested Dan have an echo-cardiogram. That was scheduled originally for this past Monday, but got moved to Wednesday. The echo confirmed that Dan has a faulty valve which is good news and bad news. The good news is that this may actually be the leading cause of Dan's migraines and correcting it may solve that problem as well. The bad news we don't know yet. We have yet to find out how serious the problem is. We are supposed to hear from someone (probably the cardiologist) within the next few days to give us more information and Dan has another appointment with the cardiologist in a couple of weeks.

I just wanted to let you all in on what's happening here and we'll try and keep you up to date on new news. We'll also let you know when we'll be having Gabriel's blessing so that those who wish to attend can make appropriate arrangements. I will need to inform you that, unfortunately, we do not have a lot of room at our home so hotel accomidations may be something you'll need to consider. We are working to make more room, but a lot will depend on how many wish to, and can, attend.

Lots of love,

- Karen