Fans are sending positive thoughts and prayers to Days of our Lives alum Asher Morrissette (ex-Thomas DiMera), who has been fighting an unknown illness since July.
According to a GoFundMe page set up in his mother's name, the child actor has had a persistent high fever of 102 degrees for the last three months, and his doctors at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville, TN, have not been able to determine the cause, despite many tests and blood panels. Morrissette was scheduled for an MRI of his brain on October 5 to check for problems with his hypothalamus (which regulates body temperature) and for any potential growths or other abnormalities; the MRI appointment was moved up to Thursday, October 1, but the young star's family has yet to reveal the results of the test.
Morrissette's GoFundMe page also explains that though he was set to undergo an MRI, some of his doctors believe that environmental factors may be the cause of his ongoing illness and have recommended that the family immediately move back home to California, "as it is already known that the environment there does not have a negative impact on his health This move would remove any allergens or environmental triggers that could be bothering him where they are at in Tennessee."
Depending on the outcome of the MRI, the Morrissette family plans to transfer their son to the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, which has been recommended because it is one of the top children's hospitals in regards to fevers of unknown origin (FUO). They may also consider the Children's Hospital of Orange County, which offers top care in other departments.
Says the family, "Asher is a happy, kind, joyful child who is social and active. It has been so hard for everyone who knows him to see him feeling so terrible and unable to attend school and activities he would normally attend (even in light of the pandemic)."
For more information and to find out how you can help the Morrissette family as they continue to work to determine the cause of their son's illness, check out their GoFundMe page here.
Asher Morrissette played the role of Chad and Abigail's son from 2018 to 2019. Upon leaving DAYS, he shared that his time on the NBC soap was "nothing short of a joy, a blessing, and an honor" and that he and his parents were happy "to have been a small part of this legacy" and "boundlessly grateful for the opportunity."
Almost immediately after leaving DAYS, Morrissette landed the role of Cole Baxter on The Baxters, an ensemble family drama based on the bestselling novels from Karen Kingsbury that follows Elizabeth and John Baxter and their adult children as they navigate life's highs and lows, both with and without God.
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