Lots of great news

So thankful...
Where do we start? Yesterday, we had appointments all day. We received some great news and some info that we are still processing... From youngest to oldest:
Zoe- At three months of age, yesterday was her first cardiology appointment. We have known since she was a couple weeks old that she was gene positive for the same mutation that the rest of us have. Based on her echo, ECG, septum thickness, etc. she has a completely normal heart except for a PFO (small hole) that 10% of the population has.  They have no concerns about the PFO at all, and they suggested she should be seen at 1 year and then only annually thereafter unless symptoms develop. Praise God for that awesome news! Even at 3 months, Malakai had indications of HCM septum thickening, so we are thrilled about these results.
Malakai- He still has no signs of any gradient in his outflow tract.  He does have a thick septum (9 mm), but it is in a location that, at this point, is not causing any concern.  The doctor categorized his HCM as mild.  The Mayo team indicated that we may be able to take him off his medication because things look so good.  That sounds fantastic, but Julie and I are still processing this as it is different than what we had heard previously, and there isn't really a change in his testing (echo, ECG, etc.).
Aubrey- Wow! She is walking around so much quicker. Yesterday there were multiple times where she got "stuck" while she was sitting. That means that she started leaning and couldn't straighten herself out. So far she hasn't had that issue today; her strength is certainly returning. I still lift her in and out of the car, scoot her into the middle of the bed to lie down, get her up from lying down, etc.  However, she is only on the tylenol today, and she doesn't seem to be in such intense pain every time she is moved.  Once I even asked her to not do something where she could have lost her balance.  Until today the pain did not allow her to take her guard off. 
Medical update: We had a chest X-ray this afternoon (only one appointment!). They want to make sure no more air has made it's way into her chest cavity alongside her lungs before she gets on a plane.  We hear the official results tomorrow morning during our final appointment, but indications are that we are OK to fly home based on Julie's interpretation of the X-ray. The original source of the air was most likely the chest tube sites not closing up completely...
Me (Brian)- I got a little more clarity on what my heart looks like and the implications of that. The team still recommends I stay on my medicine, but they indicated that they would not give me a heart rate limit like I currently have (125 bpm).  They would just say if I get really short of breath to take it easy. There may be an incremental risk of getting a shock from my defibrillator, but with that safety net in place, the doctors are saying I don't need to limit my activity. He indicated that there are advantages and disadvantages to not working out and the incremental risk of a shock isn't very high in my situation.  He emphasized that a shock isn't the end of the world either, although it is scary to me. We aren't quite sure what to do with this advice yet, but that was encouraging for sure.  It's hard to know what to do with the differing recommendations...
Overall- These past few months have been filled with a lot of emotions. There have been so many developments with Julie's Dad's health. We learned about Zoe's HCM. And we learned Aubrey needed to have surgery among other things. I must say that God has protected us so far and I trust that he will continue to do so. We are so thankful Aubrey's surgery has gone so well. I'm hopeful that she will come out of this with increased energy, but more importantly a better long-term prognosis.  Her gradient has been decreased from 160-180 mmHg to 0! Seeing Aubrey in so much pain was very difficult for both of us.  Agreeing to heart surgery and all that it entails was very intense as well. I hope that the toughest part is past and I look forward to continued healing.