The checkup

Apologies for being so long in writing. (I'll place the blame on my crazy busy job, while thanking God that I have it!)

Last Sunday at Mema's, Jackson kept patting his heart and saying, "Doctor," which Angy said he's been doing for the past few weeks. She had called Dr. Petit's office about it and Jackson's continuing high blood pressure, but they advised waiting for his scheduled post-op checkup.

Every time Jackson patted his heart on Sunday and said, "Doctor," Angy would reply that they were going to see him on Tuesday. I think we were all concerned that Jackson was trying to say something was wrong, although he acted like he felt OK.

He also kept saying "Target," so we went there on the way home. Jackson led us to the candy aisle and selected a bag of Sploshberry Gummies. Angy said that he's been looking at this new candy on eBay and apparently researched where to find it locally.

On Monday, Angy received a call from the school nurse because Jackson was patting his stomach and his heart and crying hysterically. (Dr. Petit had said that Jackson might experience pain in his stomach because of the location the bottom stent moved to while he was in the hospital.) When Angy walked into the nurse's office, Jackson smiled and got up to go. He seemed perfectly fine then, so Angy talked to him on the way out about not pretending he's sick just to get out of school.

Jackson took a nap when they got home, which is unusual for him. Was it because he was physically ill or because he had actually been overacting and was tired from it? God only knows.

At the checkup on Tuesday, Jackson tolerated well having his blood pressure checked in both arms and legs. It was a miracle that the nurse only had to do it once in each limb, so good progress there. The x-rays, however, were a different story. Angy said that Jackson was hysterical the entire time, with tears flooding down his face. (I regret not taking off from my crazy busy job to be with them.)

Here's the rundown on the results of Jackson's checkup:

• Although the bottom stent is lower than Dr. Petit would like it to be, all three stents have remained in the same place as they were when Jackson left the hospital. (Thank you, Jesus!)
• Jackson's aorta is nice and big where the stents are, but everywhere else, his aorta is damaged by coarctation.
• Now that enough time has passed for his body to adjust to the new blood flow from the stents, Jackson's blood pressure should have gone down. It's still 155–165 over 90 when he's calm and in the 180s over 110 when he's agitated.
• Dr. Petit doubled Jackson's blood pressure medicine and changed the prescription to tablets that can be crushed in food as opposed to the expensive ($150/month) liquid compound medicine he's been taking that insurance doesn't cover. (Another praise to the King!)
• They're also going to double-check the MRI images from last October to see whether there's any coarctation in the arteries to Jackson's kidneys.

So, prayer warriors, you know what to do.

As we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord especially during this Easter weekend, give a listen to Chris Tomlin's I Will Rise and remember these words of Jesus:

"For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day." (John 6:40)

When Jesus calls my name, I will rise, and Jackson will too. Our bodies will be perfect, and I'll get to learn the things my heart longs to know now.