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Hey Norton

Ken Norton
This is my personal account. The views expressed are mine alone and not those of my employer.




Reblogged from summersumz
summersumz: It’s strange how something as seemingly innocuous as an image of an “anatomically correct heart” will startle me. There I’ll be, skipping through Etsy looking for pottery espresso cups and BOOM there’s a heart with its four chambers, its piping all miraculously connected in the standard arrangement, perfectly evolved to hydraulically cycle and oxygenate blood. A couple of years ago I wouldn’t have thought twice about it, would’ve moseyed on in my quest for preferred pottery, but now it makes my thoughts stutter. My impulse was to quickly scroll past it - a “look away” reaction - but it was too late, the thought had already crossed my mind: “there is a perfect heart, and perfect hearts aren’t always standard issue, and darn! this picture making me think about this!”  I tell the story ok enough verbally, sitting beside someone, but it’s hard for me to write it. Facts are easier to write than emotions, especially when emotions are a scrambled up mess of dismay, fear, and anger at the random misfires of the universe, soothed only slightly by hope, utter hope, in the advancements of medical science. So, here’s the medical facts about Ken’s son Riley, from “Riley’s blog”.  Riley was born with congenital heart defects that were detected shortly after birth. He has a condition called heterotaxy which means his internal organs are reversed. His heart is on the right side of his chest. He is also missing a spleen, a cardiac-related condition called asplenia syndrome. Riley’s heart only has a single ventricle and a common valve. Before treatment, oxygen poor blood mixed with oxygenated blood causing severe cyanosis (“blueness”). There is no cure for Riley’s disease but a three-stage palliative treatment is commonly performed. A few days after birth in April 2003 surgeons at UCSF performed the first stage, a BT Shunt. In May 2004 surgeons performed the Glenn Procedure. In March 2006 Riley underwent the Fontan Procedure, the third stage. Riley developed protein losing enteropathy and in March 2007 received a Fontan fenestration which failed, followed by the Fontan takedown in April 2007. Riley’s 8 now. He’s super smart and he’s funny. He loves playing baseball and legos, riding his bike, hanging out with his little brother, and asking wise questions. His condition is stable and he goes in for a checkup in the next month or so. In the meantime, it’s “enjoy each day as it comes” and “hurry up, science”.

summersumz:

It’s strange how something as seemingly innocuous as an image of an “anatomically correct heart” will startle me. There I’ll be, skipping through Etsy looking for pottery espresso cups and BOOM there’s a heart with its four chambers, its piping all miraculously connected in the standard arrangement, perfectly evolved to hydraulically cycle and oxygenate blood. A couple of years ago I wouldn’t have thought twice about it, would’ve moseyed on in my quest for preferred pottery, but now it makes my thoughts stutter. My impulse was to quickly scroll past it - a “look away” reaction - but it was too late, the thought had already crossed my mind: “there is a perfect heart, and perfect hearts aren’t always standard issue, and darn! this picture making me think about this!” 

I tell the story ok enough verbally, sitting beside someone, but it’s hard for me to write it. Facts are easier to write than emotions, especially when emotions are a scrambled up mess of dismay, fear, and anger at the random misfires of the universe, soothed only slightly by hope, utter hope, in the advancements of medical science. So, here’s the medical facts about Ken’s son Riley, from “Riley’s blog”. 

Riley was born with congenital heart defects that were detected shortly after birth. He has a condition called heterotaxy which means his internal organs are reversed. His heart is on the right side of his chest. He is also missing a spleen, a cardiac-related condition called asplenia syndrome. Riley’s heart only has a single ventricle and a common valve. Before treatment, oxygen poor blood mixed with oxygenated blood causing severe cyanosis (“blueness”).

There is no cure for Riley’s disease but a three-stage palliative treatment is commonly performed. A few days after birth in April 2003 surgeons at UCSF performed the first stage, a BT Shunt. In May 2004 surgeons performed the Glenn Procedure. In March 2006 Riley underwent the Fontan Procedure, the third stage. Riley developed protein losing enteropathy and in March 2007 received a Fontan fenestration which failed, followed by the Fontan takedown in April 2007.

Riley’s 8 now. He’s super smart and he’s funny. He loves playing baseball and legos, riding his bike, hanging out with his little brother, and asking wise questions. His condition is stable and he goes in for a checkup in the next month or so. In the meantime, it’s “enjoy each day as it comes” and “hurry up, science”.

Notes

  1. heynorton reblogged this from summersumz
  2. dresspants said: Great post!
  3. summersumz posted this