*Whew!!!*

GREAT NEWS!!! Brittney's appt. up at Doernbecher's went fantastic today, and we found out that it really was a false alarm after all!! We were there for about 3 hours this afternoon. They started off with the echocardiogram, and did a thorough evaluation which included 115 images for the cardiologist to review. Her heart looked perfect,.. textbook perfect. They checked every aspect of her heart,.. the chambers, the valves, the arteries,.. everything looked great. Her EKG was perfect, too, and her clinical exam was also. In fact, the cardiologist didn't hear ANYthing,... not the clicking that the pediatrician said he could faintly hear,.. not even the slightest murmur. Nothing. What a huge relief,........ NO HEART CONDITION!!!

They said that something to look into might be exercise induced asthma or possibly some gastrointestinal acid reflux that gets stirred up during high activity,... neither of which they consider life-threatening or dangerous, but something to be looked into in case her symptoms could be remedied. And Brittney is thrilled to know she can go back to playing soccer this fall.

We went to the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner to celebrate, and the girls were excited to sit at one of the tables inside the big trolley. Scott & I haven't been there in so long,.. it's been a good 10 years for me. It was a really nice evening. We're back home now, and heading off to bed. I'm exhausted.

I cannot tell you though how relieved I am,.... the kind of relief that moves you to tears, especially once the day finally draws to a close & everything is quiet. The kind of relief that you thank God over & over & over for. The kind of relief that means you're finally going to be able to sleep well tonight,.. sleep well & rest,.. rest without worry. Rest without fear... even if it's just for a short while before the next one takes it's place. And yes, that's coming up very quickly again with Ashley,...

But, for now,... we are breathing a huge sigh of relief for Brittney. *smiles*