yup, it's time for the fontan...

so, yeah, asher hasn't been doing so well lately. all week, actually. he's not sick or anything... unless you count heart disease, in which case, he's one sick little boy.

i took him to see the paediatrician yesterday. all week, asher has been blue, lethargic (on wednesday, he fell asleep on the couch at 5pm and slept straight through till morning... in his bed, though), irritable, not eating as much, sweating in his sleep, puffier than usual, and his hands and feet are cold. actually, i think he's cold all over lately; he never wants to take his coat off anymore. so i took him in, and when she assessed him, she found that he's not tachypnic (breathing fast) or tachycardic (rapid heart rate), but his liver is low. and she knows, because she checked it last week when i took him in. so it has definitely lowered.

(who cares about his liver, you ask? when the liver descends, it is an indication of heart failure. the heart swells from working too hard and the influx of blood to help increase function, and this requires more room. so the liver gets pushed out of the way. it's not as low as it has been in the past, mind you, but it's working its way down, enough to be concerning.)

so, basically, the fontan is coming just in time. please pray/cross all crossables/send good vibes/whatever you do that asher remains otherwise healthy, since clearly this surgery is needed right now. if he gets sick, they will have to cancel, and that will be bad.

and it's 11 days till the fontan. click on the title of this post and scroll down till you see "The third stage of the Norwood: the Fontan operation." that tells you what you need to know, if you're curious about what is involved.