Next week

This is the longest stretch Magnus has ever gone without being in the hospital. Not coincidentally, it is also the longest I have gone without updating this blog! But both stretches are now coming to an end.

Magnus's cardiac catheterization is scheduled for June 1. I'm really hoping we'll be first case this time, since last time, frankly, sucked (the first case ran late, so we wound up having to fast Magnus all day until 3 p.m. and keep him entertained in the hospital). But of course, more importantly, we are hoping for good news, or at least, not for bad news.

Magnus has now been on oxygen 24 hours a day for more than 6 months in hopes of controlling his pulmonary hypertension and allowing him to be a candidate for the third surgery he's supposed to have. That's more than 1/3 of his life (he just turned 18 months last week)! This cath is extremely important. We could get either very good news (the oxygen & meds worked & his hypertension is better), very bad news (his hypertension is worse and there's nothing else they can do for him), or, probably most likely, something in between.

From what we can tell from the outside, Magnus has been doing very well. He has been growing and gaining weight, learning new things, and catching up in his gross motor skills (he's getting close to walking). I also feel like he just looks better than he ever has; he looks strong, and doesn't have the puffiness he used to have before. He also has tons of energy, and has been healthy ever since the cold that landed him in the hospital back in January. But who knows? I felt confident that he was doing better at the time of his last cath, right before Christmas, and there had actually been no change. So, we are very nervous.