Tomorrow Sofia will be 8 months old! She comes to the Alberta Children's Hospital here in Calgary regularly for assorted tests and examinations.

Sofia's heart is closely monitored. Everything appears to be good. She doesn't seem to mind being hooked up to all the wires -- they are something she can play with!

Waiting for the doctor -- no wonder it's called a "Waiting Room"

The doctors here are very busy (like everywhere) and we have to keep her happy. Sofia has already had her height, weight, EKG, and other little tests done, but the doctor has to give her a good lookover. While we wait, Momma and I do our best to keep her occupied.

The doctor checks her over -- listening carefully in a number of locations to make sure that things are as they should be. Momma keeps Sofia still while the doctor listens. The doctors (I didn't get a photo of the other one) ask lots of questions about her, check her blood pressure, and give her a thorough physical checkup. They have both been seeing Sofia since she was born and are very familiar with her. It appears that everything is looking just fine!

GOOD NEWS!

Sofia passed all the tests with flying colors! The doctor tells Momma to reduce Sofia's blood pressure medication to almost nothing for a week, and then to stop it forever. Her heart is working well, and her blood pressure has been consistently good for the last couple of checkovers. We won't have to see the cardiologist for six months! Wow! What great news! The blood pressure medication is the last of Sofia's medications. Once it is stopped, Sofia will be medication free. Now if we could just get rid of the NG feeding tube -- hopefully that won't be long from now!

There is a chalkboard in the waiting room. Many of the kids draw on it while waiting for the doctor to come. They all seem to know what to do with the crayons, but some just don't know where they are supposed to write! God Bless 'Em!