A successful cath day

Big day.
Tiernan did an amazing job for his cath this morning. He took his pre-med (versed) like a rock star and was nice and calm for the mask. First. Time. Ever. I know it had a lot to do with the child life specialist, Jess. She explained things so well to him and let him play on an iPad (key to his heart these days) and he got to decorate his "sleepy mask" with stickers. She also rubbed a scent on it so it smelled like grapes. In the past, he has always fought the mask in spite of the versed. This time he stayed nice and calm, even though I knew he was pretty nervous. Very brave.
As far as the cath results:
Coarctation is definitely in need of another reconstruction. The pressure above the CoA is 100/40, while the one below is 80/40. This means the gradient is 20. (Difference between the top numbers). anything 20+ is in need of attention, so Hanley will go ahead and address that in the OR.
Collateral vessels were needing more coiling. The coil from back in August was allowing blood flow still. So Dr. Peng coiled it again and all the way up and down so it's good to go.
AVMs (Arteriovenous Malformations) are around the right pulmonary artery. They are allowing the blue blood (oxygen poor) to flow quickly around the Glenn which allows it to return to the heart without a stop at the lungs. This just means that his blood is a little more desaturated. I think Peng said that this would not affect a bi-vent but may cause a little trouble for a Fontan. That is fuzzy though. I honestly have only heard of AVMs in the brain though so I'm still confused.
Glenn is okay but slightly narrowed. This is causing a subtle gradient of .5-1. They don't get concerned until it is 3+.  Peng believes this will be corrected by either the bi-vent or the Fontan.
Overall, Dr. Peng feels the cath supports the case for bi-vent as the strongest choice. That being said, they still cannot be certain until they get in there.
We also spoke to a Physicians Assistant (PA) named Amy Bruce. She explained the bi-vent but also the 1.5 repair. We had never heard anyone mention that before, but the gist is that they septate still but leave the Glenn in place. This means they take down the DKS, allowing the blue blood to go from the body thorough the heart directly to the lungs. The Glenn just continues to  flow into the lungs passively: without the heart having to actually pump the blood to the lungs.
If they don't think it's safe to do either septation, then Hanley will definitely still do the CoA and address the leaky tricuspid. As to whether or not they could just do the Fontan, they seem pretty concerned that it would increase the difficulty of the recovery. As Peng put it, with Fontan circulation really need everything inside the heart to be pristine. So if that valve is done and not allowed time to be tested, then the Fontan could be compromised. The arch is another factor in this.
So the docs are meeting this am to finalize the plans but so much depends on what Hanley sees interoperatively.

Tiernan had a decent night. We are in a shared room with a newborn right next to us. This baby is a lot like tiernan was as a baby. Cries a lot. So Tiernan woke up with baby boy most of the time. Makes me sad when I see the babies with no parents staying with them.
T has been pretty emotional. Very brave but emotional. He definitely lets his feelings be known. Nothing new there. He had an X-ray last night and did pretty well, even though he cried. There is so much happening and he is definitely overwhelmed.
He's eating well, post cath and only complaining about his IV hurting so his nurse is going to take a look and maybe even take it out. Here's hoping.
My parents are nearly here so that will be a fantastic boost for all of us.
Thank you all for your continued prayers and words of support. It means soooo much more than you could possibly imagine.