Blue incident

Last night after Riley's bath, his lips turned quite blue, as did his feet and hands. This was a bit shocking to us because we had never seen him get so blue before. It looked like he had eaten a blue popsicle or lollipop. The blueness in his lips lasted five to 10 minutes and the blueness in his feet lasted longer. There was also some significant patches of mottled skin on his arms, especially near his elbows.

I called Dr. Tarnoff's office this morning to alert him to this incident, and he asked me to take Riley in to have his oxygen saturation checked to see if there have been any changes since his appointment in January. We'll be doing that after Carter gets up from his morning nap.

I also asked him about the constant upset stomachs that Riley suffers from. We had hoped that the stomach issues would discontinue when he stopped taking his Digoxin last month. But since they have continued, Dr. Tarnoff said that the problem is "probably anatomical rather than chemical." He speculated that the issues could be related to the hepatic veins, which were moved during his Fontan operation in March 2006. The hepatic veins drain part of the liver circulation, and because pressures change after the Fontan, it can raise pressures in the liver. And since the liver and the stomach are both in the belly region, Riley could actually be feeling discomfort there and not in his stomach.

When Riley has his heart cathertization in March or April, they should be able to determine if there is a pressure problem the liver. I'm not sure what they would do to alleviate the problem, however, if it is a liver issue. If it is not a liver issue, Dr. Tarnoff said that he could refer Riley to a gastrointestinal specialist. To me, that sounds like a whole new can of worms.