Asher’s cath was scheduled for today first thing in the morning. He got put at the early time since he is the youngest, and I was glad because then he doesn’t have to be awake as long without eating. We had to be up at the hospital this morning at 5:45 a.m., so we left just after 5:00. Asher wasn’t too thrilled about being woken up and put in the car, but once we got going he was happy and talking the whole way. I brought some apple juice for him to drink on the way, but he didn’t want any.
I was amazed at how calm and happy he was going back, knowing all he had been through. He wasn’t going this time without any understanding of what goes on here! He walked in, sat up on the bed, and laughed with the nurse and played games on the phone while they took his vitals and asked all the pre-op questions. I played with the ride-on toys they have in the hallway before it was time to drink the versed and head into the cath lab. He sat up once and laughed and said, “Mom, I’m dizzy!” He told us goodbye at the cath lab, and smiled as they pulled him away. The nurse then started to take us to the cath lab, but we assured her we were all to familiar with where it was.
The wait from there seemed really long. Dr. Kyser’s plan was to go in, open his fenestration (small pop-off valve into the heart in case pressure gets too high), measure the area where his pulmonaries came back into the heart (the area that looked smaller or like it had some turbulence), and optimize anything else they could while in there. He told us to plan on a couple of hours. He went in just before 8:00, so by 11:00 I was getting quite anxious for an update. I think I was more worried and anxious during this cath than during a lot of his other procedures because I feared what they might tell us they found. The longer wait wasn’t helping my fears. Finally, at about 11:45, a message popped up on my phone (the reception in the cath lab is horrible). It was from the nurse, and she had actually called a bit before 11:00 saying that Asher was doing great, his vitals looked good, and that Dr. Kyser would be another hour or hour and a half.
A little bit after noon, the pager buzzed, indicating the procedure was wrapping up and Dr. Kyser would soon be coming to report to us. When he came in, he said things actually looked better in there than on the echo. Part of the reason it was taking so long was because they couldn’t find his fenestration. He looked and looked, but it had all closed up. It had looked small on the echo two weeks ago, and he said sometimes they do that. He debated as to whether he should open up a new one or not, but after measuring all his levels he felt that it wasn’t necessary, at least for now. They can go in and open it back up if they need to, but they typically go in after a year anyway to close it. He also put a stent in one of his pulmonary veins, something he had told us at his last cath they would do next year, after his surgery. He decided to just do it now and optimize that area, and then we don’t have to do a special cath to put it in next year. They looked closely at the pressure where the pulmonaries come into the heart, and the area was bigger than it looked on the echo, and while the pressures were slightly different, he didn’t think it was enough to warrant a surgery. He will meet with the cardiology team on Thursday and review his findings with them, and they will collectively make the final decision, but that is how he feels right now. It was a relief to hear that things were looking better than expected, and that surgery didn’t seem likely. He also said they emptied his pleural caths at the end at noon, and even though it was five hours later than it was supposed to be, he only got out 23 ml, so he is pretty confident that he is on his way to them drying up.
One of the images the doctor gave us, showing the cath in there, the stent they placed in there last month, and another imaging down his throat.
It was all a big relief to hear that things looked better than they thought. We know there is lots in the future with Asher’s heart, and lots of unknown, but we are relieved to know that for now it doesn’t look like he needs surgery. We are feeling very blessed and grateful that our prayers were once again answered for this little miracle boy.
We waited outside the recovery room for awhile. I kept assuming they would come and get us any minute because he would be waking up, but after an hour they came and got us just as they were wheeling him back to the room. He usually wakes up pretty cranky in the recovery room from his caths, so I was glad he was able to rest better this time. He has to lie flat for four hours, but he slept almost the whole time. I’m glad that he can rest and not be frustrated with having to lie still for so long. Dr. Kyser said we are free to go home once he is up moving around a bit after his cath, and we are so thrilled not to have to stay a night or two. The nurses, bot the pre-surgery ones, the ones during his cath, and the recovery room ones, have all been amazed at how well he handles all of this, especially after having had open heart surgery just three weeks ago today, and leaving the hospital less than a week ago. He is truly being blessed by all the prayers for him to be patient and calm and brave through all of this. So many tender mercies!
