Its been a rough few days. On Tuesday Patrick was having issues with his blood pressure dropping, and then that evening his blood pressure and oxygen dropped low. They got him stable, but by morning he was really bad. They called at 8 to tell me that they were putting him back on the breathing tube and by 9 we were afraid we were losing him. His oxygen levels were really bad and even with the breathing tube they couldn't get them much higher than 82. The realized right away that he was hemorrhaging into his lungs, and thought he had a blood clot in his lungs. They put him on the ECMO (lung bypass) maching to buy him time to figure out what was going on and the best way to deal with it.
After getting him somewhat stable they took him down for a CT scan. This showed that he did not have a clot, but he did have something in his airway. After scoping his lungs they found that he had a large blood clot. They tried to remove it Wednesday night but where having a lot of problems, so decided to wait until morning and take him into the OR.
Tuesday was a rough day, but nothing compared to Wednesday morning. Nurse started calling me around 2 AM telling me that he was bleeding into his lungs again. Then called around 2:30 to tell me that they were going to take him into the cath lab to see if they could block off the arteries/vessels that were bleeding. At 3 AM the doctor called me for a consent. At 3:45 the nurse called again and said that they were getting ready to take him to the cath lab, and less than 10 minutes later they called telling me I had to get to the hospital as soon as possible.
When I got there one of the doctors, one of my favorite ones, told me that Patrick was about as sick as he could get. They were having a hard time putting the ventilator in because of all the blood in his lungs. They finally got it in and took him back to the cath lab.
Around 6:30 AM the doctor came out and said that it went perfectly. That they were able to go in and block off the bleeders, and stop the bleeding. Then they took him back to the OR around 11:30 to clean out his lungs. When I signed the consent form, the doctor told me it would be about an hour. That hour turned into 4 hours. They were able to clean him out but everything going on in his lungs to do so caused them to start bleeding again.
I called at 9 PM for an update and was told that compared to last night that he's stable.
Today, March 30th, they are taking him back into the OR to clean out some more blood clots out of his lungs. They were able to go down a little on the ECMO and he seems to be tolerating it. Hopefully this is the last OR trip and we can work towards letting his lungs heal and getting him back on his road to recovery.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Stress Relief
This waiting room is driving me insane. I've met some great people here, and I've watched most of them come and go. Only 1 other family has been here longer than I have and they're going on 6 weeks.
A week or so ago they painted it and missed painting the door, and also missed painting a huge part of the ceiling. These 2 things are driving me nuts.
So I walk. A lot. I have walked all over this floor (2nd floor) of the hospital, and the 1st floor too. This week I'm going to start walking up on the 3rd floor too.
I've walked outside a few times, but its been raining a lot, so I'm stuck inside.
Tin Man is doing a lot better. Now our main focus is getting him strong enough to sit up on the edge of the bed by himself. Then get him into a chair.
Tomorrow he starts intense physical therapy to help strengthen his muscles to get him ready to sit, and then eventually up and walking.
This is going to be the hard part because just getting up and sitting on the edge of the bed is a workout for him right now.
Small baby steps. He's come a long way in just a week, so I'll take whatever we can get, no matter how small.
A week or so ago they painted it and missed painting the door, and also missed painting a huge part of the ceiling. These 2 things are driving me nuts.
So I walk. A lot. I have walked all over this floor (2nd floor) of the hospital, and the 1st floor too. This week I'm going to start walking up on the 3rd floor too.
I've walked outside a few times, but its been raining a lot, so I'm stuck inside.
Tin Man is doing a lot better. Now our main focus is getting him strong enough to sit up on the edge of the bed by himself. Then get him into a chair.
Tomorrow he starts intense physical therapy to help strengthen his muscles to get him ready to sit, and then eventually up and walking.
This is going to be the hard part because just getting up and sitting on the edge of the bed is a workout for him right now.
Small baby steps. He's come a long way in just a week, so I'll take whatever we can get, no matter how small.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Still In The ICU`
This week feels like its been years.
Sunday March 11
They started waking him up and had me in there a lot talking to him and getting him to respond. He had to be awake enough to follow 4 commands to get the breathing tube out. He was able to follow one. So they resedated him again that night and planned on starting again on Monday.
Monday March 12
Monday was not a good day. His kidneys were causing him problems and his blood gases weren't good. One of these blood gases your body uses as a signal to breathe, and since his was way to high, he wasn't getting that signal so he wasn't breathing on his own.
Tuesday March 13
The heart looked great, and they were able to turn the pacemaker off and the heart pumped great on its own. Still had a problem with his blood gases and but he as breathing on his own a little. His sodium levels were very high and they were worried about swelling around his brain. They had to give him some fluids to help lower the sodium levels, but because of his kidneys he couldn't get a lot of fluid. So they had to find the balance between the two.
Wednesday March 14
Wasn't breathing on his on again. Between the fluid in the IVs and the extra fluid he was given because of the sodium levels. Creatinine was on the rise, but the doctors were still hoping to get his kidneys to start working on their own.
Thursday March 15
Was doing better and awake enough to watch come videos of the kids. Creatinine levels were 4.7 but they were still hopeful that his kidneys would bounce back and start working.
Friday March 16
They finally gave in and started him on dialysis because his kidneys weren't filtering the blood even though they were making urine. They also stopped the sedation in the morning and gave him some breathing exercises to do. Once they were sure he could do them, they removed his breathing tube! This was a big day for him. Even better was the kids got to see him. Warrior is old enough to go back, but the nurse got special permission for Sugar Peas to go back to see him. We all needed this.
He was full of questions and so confused. At first he couldn't figure out why he was in the hospital or what happened to him. Then he started to remember and asked if he got his new heart. Then he told me that it feels really weird.
The nurse kicked us out so he could rest for the night. Tin Man wasn't happy about it, at all, and made sure she knew it.
Saturday March 17
He had so many questions and was so confused. So many things that had to get done and didn't before he got the call were on his mind. He was worried about if the mail got stopped, about delivering Girl Scout cookies, and even about Warrior's exit project.
He finally calmed down when I told him I had everything under control and the only thing he had to focus on was getting better. Then he started to tell me all the reasons why he did not like his nurse. This was fun trying to figure out because he doesn't make noise when he talks yet.
I wasn't fond of his nurse, so I can only imagine how much he really hated her. She didn't like him much either because he kept flipping her off.
Sunday March 18 (Today)
He's not responding much today. His fingers and toes are almost black because of 1. an allergic reaction to Heparin (which is new because he's had it before) and 2. a reaction to one of the transplant meds. They are starting him back on blood thinners to see if this will help with the circulation and get some of the pain in his hands and feet gone.
They removed 2 chest tubes today and the wound vac which is a great step for the heart. He's back on dialysis and his kidneys have stopped making urine. Hoping that this is only temporary and once they're well rested from the dialysis helping them out, they will start to recover and he won't need a kidney transplant.
Unfortunately there is no real test at this point, and only time will tell us what's going to happen with his kidneys.
Sunday March 11
They started waking him up and had me in there a lot talking to him and getting him to respond. He had to be awake enough to follow 4 commands to get the breathing tube out. He was able to follow one. So they resedated him again that night and planned on starting again on Monday.
Monday March 12
Monday was not a good day. His kidneys were causing him problems and his blood gases weren't good. One of these blood gases your body uses as a signal to breathe, and since his was way to high, he wasn't getting that signal so he wasn't breathing on his own.
Tuesday March 13
The heart looked great, and they were able to turn the pacemaker off and the heart pumped great on its own. Still had a problem with his blood gases and but he as breathing on his own a little. His sodium levels were very high and they were worried about swelling around his brain. They had to give him some fluids to help lower the sodium levels, but because of his kidneys he couldn't get a lot of fluid. So they had to find the balance between the two.
Wednesday March 14
Wasn't breathing on his on again. Between the fluid in the IVs and the extra fluid he was given because of the sodium levels. Creatinine was on the rise, but the doctors were still hoping to get his kidneys to start working on their own.
Thursday March 15
Was doing better and awake enough to watch come videos of the kids. Creatinine levels were 4.7 but they were still hopeful that his kidneys would bounce back and start working.
Friday March 16
They finally gave in and started him on dialysis because his kidneys weren't filtering the blood even though they were making urine. They also stopped the sedation in the morning and gave him some breathing exercises to do. Once they were sure he could do them, they removed his breathing tube! This was a big day for him. Even better was the kids got to see him. Warrior is old enough to go back, but the nurse got special permission for Sugar Peas to go back to see him. We all needed this.
He was full of questions and so confused. At first he couldn't figure out why he was in the hospital or what happened to him. Then he started to remember and asked if he got his new heart. Then he told me that it feels really weird.
The nurse kicked us out so he could rest for the night. Tin Man wasn't happy about it, at all, and made sure she knew it.
Saturday March 17
He had so many questions and was so confused. So many things that had to get done and didn't before he got the call were on his mind. He was worried about if the mail got stopped, about delivering Girl Scout cookies, and even about Warrior's exit project.
He finally calmed down when I told him I had everything under control and the only thing he had to focus on was getting better. Then he started to tell me all the reasons why he did not like his nurse. This was fun trying to figure out because he doesn't make noise when he talks yet.
I wasn't fond of his nurse, so I can only imagine how much he really hated her. She didn't like him much either because he kept flipping her off.
Sunday March 18 (Today)
He's not responding much today. His fingers and toes are almost black because of 1. an allergic reaction to Heparin (which is new because he's had it before) and 2. a reaction to one of the transplant meds. They are starting him back on blood thinners to see if this will help with the circulation and get some of the pain in his hands and feet gone.
They removed 2 chest tubes today and the wound vac which is a great step for the heart. He's back on dialysis and his kidneys have stopped making urine. Hoping that this is only temporary and once they're well rested from the dialysis helping them out, they will start to recover and he won't need a kidney transplant.
Unfortunately there is no real test at this point, and only time will tell us what's going to happen with his kidneys.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
We have a Healthy New Heart!!!!
Now that things have finally calmed down and I can focus on other things I can give a recap of the last week.
MONDAY March 5th
Monday morning my biggest stresser was they were going to admit Tin Man for a week on March 12th. I was so stressed out about this. Looking back, I have no idea.
Tin Man called me at 11:45 to tell me that he had talked to the nurse and finalizing the plans for his week vacation. We talked about how things were going to work the morning of the 12th and about the kids and I coming up to visit with him on that Friday. Since it was just a meds adjustment and tests on his kidneys, we didn't figure I needed to be there all the time.
We hung up the phone just before 12. I had just got up to get ready to head to an appointment and Tin Man called me back. He told me there was a change of plans and that they wanted him up there today. I asked him why today (not even thinking about The Call) and he said that the nurse had called and said that they wanted him up there today. I asked why because I had a lot of appointments this week. He then told me that he didn't know, they just wanted him up there and wanted to know if I could cancel my plans. I told him some but not all. Then he told me to see what I could do. Finally his co worker called him back and he had to tell her why he needed her to come in.
Once he finally told me that they called and said they had a possible heart I started sobbing and shaking. Poor Sugar Pea was at home and looked at me like I had grown a 2nd head. Finally when I could talk about I told her that daddy had received the call and that we had to go to the hospital. She told me "That's good because I thought you were having a nervous breakdown." Then she got excited and went to pack some of her clothes.
I had a list of people I had to call, things I needed to pack, and take a shower. So many things to do and I couldn't get my brain to focus enough. I can remember packing socks, but other than that I don't remember much. I packed 1 1/2 packs of socks for Tin Man, dish towels (no idea why) flip flops, but they didn't match. I didn't pack a single pair of my pants. Nice huh?
Friends of ours showed up at our house at 1PM to pick us up, take us to the kids' school so we could tell Warrior what was going on. He was annoyed because I called him out of class in front of all his friends, but then so excited when we told him what was going on.
Then we headed to drop off Sugar Pea off with friends since she was home sick, and headed up to the hospital. We got here about 2:30 and went straight to the clinic. One of Tin Man's favorite nurses (the one who actually the privilage of calling him about the heart) came out to meet us and explained that they were still waiting for a bed to put him in since they wanted to do a kidney ultrasound too.
We waited there for about an hour and half before Tin Man's doctor came out and told us to follow him down to the unit so he could see what was going on about the bed. On the way down there we ran into one of the surgeons in the hallway. He walked with us to the waiting room and explained to us how the rest of the day/night was going to go. He told us the plan was to take him back to the OR about 3 AM, but that could be pushed back.
So we waited some more. Then the surgeon came back with the consent forms. This made is seem a little more real, but both of us kept thinking it was going to be a dry run and that we were going to be sent home. We even talked about how we were going to deal with how upset the kids were going to be when we came back home.
About 4:30 they came to get Tin Man and take him to do the ultrasound on his kidneys. That's when I ran to get something to eat. I felt bad going to get something while he was around because he wasn't able to eat anything.
About 9 PM they finally got him a bed. It wasn't in the unit they originally wanted, but they settled for it. Go him the bed and the parade started. Xray, EKG, and blood draws were standing in line to get in to do their thing with him. Once that was done there was more waiting.
TUESDAY March 6th
Tin Man's mom and brother got to the hospital (from Southern California) about 1 AM. Then it was more hanging out until they took him back to the OR at 3:15. I was still convinced that it wasn't going to happen. They were going to find something wrong and we were going to go home empty handed.
Tin Man was somewhere behind the doors at the end.
At 5 AM we were given the update that they had got the go ahead and had made the incision.
The waiting during this time was horrible. Every thought went through my mind at least a 100 times each. Finally at 10 AM we got the update that they were sewing in the new heart. That was the longest 5 hours of my life. This was also when it became real for me. It was actually happening. This is when the sobbing and shaking started all over again.
At 12 PM they came out to tell us that they were double checking things and getting ready to close him.
At 2 PM they came out and said that he was out of surgery and in ICU. It was over and he had a healthy new heart for the first time in his life. I jumped up and gave the surgeon a huge hug and thanked him over and over.
We didn't get to see Tin Man until almost 6 because they were having problems with his blood pressure dropping really low. They finally got him stable enough for us to go in and see him for a few minutes. I couldn't rest until I seen him and told the surgeon that much.
Ivs anyone?
Wednesday wasn't bad. They were still having blood pressure issues, but nothing they said wasn't uncommon. So the 3 of us went back to my house to sleep since we hadn't been able to get a hotel in the area.
THURSDAY March 8
Thursday morning I had some things I needed to do around town, one being temporary guardian ship for the kids, and other things that I had to cancel. I was at the school getting emergency contact and everything set up for them when I got a phone call from the surgeon.
Tin Man's heart rate was all over the place, it would go really high and then really low. It did this 3 times and they ended up having to shock him twice. They called to get consent over the phone to put in temporary pacemaker wires.
We dropped everything and came up to the hospital. I went back in to see him as soon as we got here. I wasn't even back there 5 minutes when his blood pressure dropped to 60/40 and everyone come running in. Watching 15 people come running into your husband's room is some scary stuff. I was pushed back and unable to get out. Listening to them, they thought he had a blood clot and were going to do a probe down his throat to look.
Finally they let me out of the room. Tin Man's brother and I went down to get some coffee and while I was down there I looked at my phone and had a voice message. So I listened to it and it was the ICU telling me I had to come back right away. So of course this scared me and I came running back up here. They wanted me to explain to me that they thought there was a blood clot pressing on his heart and they needed me to sign the consent form to take him back right away.
That surgery was 2 hours long. When the surgeon came out he said that they hadn't found a blood clot but that the heart was very swollen and being compressed because it didn't have enough room. The had to leave his chest open to give the heart room to pump. They said they had to remove the excess fluid he had build up between all the fluids from the surgery and all the fluids he was getting in IVs.
Around 8 or so the nepherologist came to talk to me about his kidneys and that they were working as hard as they could, but it just wasn't enough and they wanted to start him on dialysis to help pull the fluid out of him.
So we ended up camped out in the ICU waiting room after that because we didn't want to go back to the house because it was to far away.
FRIDAY March 9th
The night nurse that night was awesome! She promised me that if anything went wrong through out the night that she would come out to the waiting room and get me. Gave me a hug and told me that he was young, strong, and already proved he was a fighter.
I didn't get that much sleep that night. The chairs were so uncomfortable, and the 3 semi comfortable chairs, one couple claimed for themselves.
I watched the clock until 6AM so I could go back and see him. Before I even got all the way through the door to his room the nurse was telling me that he had had a great night. She told me that she wanted to come out to tell me several times during the night that he was doing great, but she was afraid that if I saw her come out that it would scare me so she didn't.
He still had some fluid on him, so they decided to let him rest and planned to close the chest on Saturday (today).
SATURDAY March 10th
Saturday morning I spent time with my kids. I miss them so much and just needed some kid time. We got to the hospital about 1:30 and they already had his chest closed and had put in a feeding tube. Poor guy hadn't got anything to eat since 8 AM Monday morning.
I talked to the resident when I was back there and she told me that he was doing good, everything looking great, and blood pressure was awesome. She said that if he was good today and tonight that they would lower the dosage on some of his drips and if his heart tolerated that well they would begin waking him up on Monday.
I am hoping we are over the worst of it and we can focus on recovery and then being able to do things most fathers take for granted, like playing with the kids.
Its been one very long, very stressful, but very exciting week.
Please say a prayer for the donor family. Even in their time of loss, they thought about helping other people. Tin Man's donor is now and always be our hero.
MONDAY March 5th
Monday morning my biggest stresser was they were going to admit Tin Man for a week on March 12th. I was so stressed out about this. Looking back, I have no idea.
Tin Man called me at 11:45 to tell me that he had talked to the nurse and finalizing the plans for his week vacation. We talked about how things were going to work the morning of the 12th and about the kids and I coming up to visit with him on that Friday. Since it was just a meds adjustment and tests on his kidneys, we didn't figure I needed to be there all the time.
We hung up the phone just before 12. I had just got up to get ready to head to an appointment and Tin Man called me back. He told me there was a change of plans and that they wanted him up there today. I asked him why today (not even thinking about The Call) and he said that the nurse had called and said that they wanted him up there today. I asked why because I had a lot of appointments this week. He then told me that he didn't know, they just wanted him up there and wanted to know if I could cancel my plans. I told him some but not all. Then he told me to see what I could do. Finally his co worker called him back and he had to tell her why he needed her to come in.
Once he finally told me that they called and said they had a possible heart I started sobbing and shaking. Poor Sugar Pea was at home and looked at me like I had grown a 2nd head. Finally when I could talk about I told her that daddy had received the call and that we had to go to the hospital. She told me "That's good because I thought you were having a nervous breakdown." Then she got excited and went to pack some of her clothes.
I had a list of people I had to call, things I needed to pack, and take a shower. So many things to do and I couldn't get my brain to focus enough. I can remember packing socks, but other than that I don't remember much. I packed 1 1/2 packs of socks for Tin Man, dish towels (no idea why) flip flops, but they didn't match. I didn't pack a single pair of my pants. Nice huh?
Friends of ours showed up at our house at 1PM to pick us up, take us to the kids' school so we could tell Warrior what was going on. He was annoyed because I called him out of class in front of all his friends, but then so excited when we told him what was going on.
Then we headed to drop off Sugar Pea off with friends since she was home sick, and headed up to the hospital. We got here about 2:30 and went straight to the clinic. One of Tin Man's favorite nurses (the one who actually the privilage of calling him about the heart) came out to meet us and explained that they were still waiting for a bed to put him in since they wanted to do a kidney ultrasound too.
We waited there for about an hour and half before Tin Man's doctor came out and told us to follow him down to the unit so he could see what was going on about the bed. On the way down there we ran into one of the surgeons in the hallway. He walked with us to the waiting room and explained to us how the rest of the day/night was going to go. He told us the plan was to take him back to the OR about 3 AM, but that could be pushed back.
So we waited some more. Then the surgeon came back with the consent forms. This made is seem a little more real, but both of us kept thinking it was going to be a dry run and that we were going to be sent home. We even talked about how we were going to deal with how upset the kids were going to be when we came back home.
About 4:30 they came to get Tin Man and take him to do the ultrasound on his kidneys. That's when I ran to get something to eat. I felt bad going to get something while he was around because he wasn't able to eat anything.
About 9 PM they finally got him a bed. It wasn't in the unit they originally wanted, but they settled for it. Go him the bed and the parade started. Xray, EKG, and blood draws were standing in line to get in to do their thing with him. Once that was done there was more waiting.
TUESDAY March 6th
Tin Man's mom and brother got to the hospital (from Southern California) about 1 AM. Then it was more hanging out until they took him back to the OR at 3:15. I was still convinced that it wasn't going to happen. They were going to find something wrong and we were going to go home empty handed.
Tin Man was somewhere behind the doors at the end.
At 5 AM we were given the update that they had got the go ahead and had made the incision.
The waiting during this time was horrible. Every thought went through my mind at least a 100 times each. Finally at 10 AM we got the update that they were sewing in the new heart. That was the longest 5 hours of my life. This was also when it became real for me. It was actually happening. This is when the sobbing and shaking started all over again.
At 12 PM they came out to tell us that they were double checking things and getting ready to close him.
At 2 PM they came out and said that he was out of surgery and in ICU. It was over and he had a healthy new heart for the first time in his life. I jumped up and gave the surgeon a huge hug and thanked him over and over.
We didn't get to see Tin Man until almost 6 because they were having problems with his blood pressure dropping really low. They finally got him stable enough for us to go in and see him for a few minutes. I couldn't rest until I seen him and told the surgeon that much.
Wednesday wasn't bad. They were still having blood pressure issues, but nothing they said wasn't uncommon. So the 3 of us went back to my house to sleep since we hadn't been able to get a hotel in the area.
THURSDAY March 8
Thursday morning I had some things I needed to do around town, one being temporary guardian ship for the kids, and other things that I had to cancel. I was at the school getting emergency contact and everything set up for them when I got a phone call from the surgeon.
Tin Man's heart rate was all over the place, it would go really high and then really low. It did this 3 times and they ended up having to shock him twice. They called to get consent over the phone to put in temporary pacemaker wires.
We dropped everything and came up to the hospital. I went back in to see him as soon as we got here. I wasn't even back there 5 minutes when his blood pressure dropped to 60/40 and everyone come running in. Watching 15 people come running into your husband's room is some scary stuff. I was pushed back and unable to get out. Listening to them, they thought he had a blood clot and were going to do a probe down his throat to look.
Finally they let me out of the room. Tin Man's brother and I went down to get some coffee and while I was down there I looked at my phone and had a voice message. So I listened to it and it was the ICU telling me I had to come back right away. So of course this scared me and I came running back up here. They wanted me to explain to me that they thought there was a blood clot pressing on his heart and they needed me to sign the consent form to take him back right away.
That surgery was 2 hours long. When the surgeon came out he said that they hadn't found a blood clot but that the heart was very swollen and being compressed because it didn't have enough room. The had to leave his chest open to give the heart room to pump. They said they had to remove the excess fluid he had build up between all the fluids from the surgery and all the fluids he was getting in IVs.
Around 8 or so the nepherologist came to talk to me about his kidneys and that they were working as hard as they could, but it just wasn't enough and they wanted to start him on dialysis to help pull the fluid out of him.
So we ended up camped out in the ICU waiting room after that because we didn't want to go back to the house because it was to far away.
FRIDAY March 9th
The night nurse that night was awesome! She promised me that if anything went wrong through out the night that she would come out to the waiting room and get me. Gave me a hug and told me that he was young, strong, and already proved he was a fighter.
I didn't get that much sleep that night. The chairs were so uncomfortable, and the 3 semi comfortable chairs, one couple claimed for themselves.
I watched the clock until 6AM so I could go back and see him. Before I even got all the way through the door to his room the nurse was telling me that he had had a great night. She told me that she wanted to come out to tell me several times during the night that he was doing great, but she was afraid that if I saw her come out that it would scare me so she didn't.
He still had some fluid on him, so they decided to let him rest and planned to close the chest on Saturday (today).
SATURDAY March 10th
Saturday morning I spent time with my kids. I miss them so much and just needed some kid time. We got to the hospital about 1:30 and they already had his chest closed and had put in a feeding tube. Poor guy hadn't got anything to eat since 8 AM Monday morning.
I talked to the resident when I was back there and she told me that he was doing good, everything looking great, and blood pressure was awesome. She said that if he was good today and tonight that they would lower the dosage on some of his drips and if his heart tolerated that well they would begin waking him up on Monday.
I am hoping we are over the worst of it and we can focus on recovery and then being able to do things most fathers take for granted, like playing with the kids.
Its been one very long, very stressful, but very exciting week.
Please say a prayer for the donor family. Even in their time of loss, they thought about helping other people. Tin Man's donor is now and always be our hero.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Wheeling Him Back
They wheeled Tin Man back to the OR at 3:15 AM (PST).
Now the hard part begins for those of us in the waiting room.
Now the hard part begins for those of us in the waiting room.
Monday, March 5, 2012
The Call We've Been Waiting For!!!!
We got the call today that they have a new heart for Tin Man!!!!!!!
I'm not even sure what time the call actually came in. I was to worried about everything we had to do and forgot to check the clock.
We got to Stanford around 2:30 and then had to wait, and wait, and wait. Finally got him into a room around 9 PM and now we just wait some more.
Their plan is to take him to the OR around 3 AM, but that could change at any time.
Please please keep us and the donor family in your thoughts and prayers.
For more up to date info on what's going on, please follow Patrick's Long Road on Facebook
I'm not even sure what time the call actually came in. I was to worried about everything we had to do and forgot to check the clock.
We got to Stanford around 2:30 and then had to wait, and wait, and wait. Finally got him into a room around 9 PM and now we just wait some more.
Their plan is to take him to the OR around 3 AM, but that could change at any time.
Please please keep us and the donor family in your thoughts and prayers.
For more up to date info on what's going on, please follow Patrick's Long Road on Facebook
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Window Long Division
Sugar Peas has been struggling this year in math.
Sitting at the table working with her just wasn't working, for either of us. So I decided to try something different.
I found out dry erase markers and had her do them on the window. I taped paper to the outside of the window so it was easier for her to see.
She loved it and we went through 10 problems in about 20 minutes.
Even Warrior wanted to get in on the fun.
Sitting at the table working with her just wasn't working, for either of us. So I decided to try something different.
I found out dry erase markers and had her do them on the window. I taped paper to the outside of the window so it was easier for her to see.
She loved it and we went through 10 problems in about 20 minutes.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Upcoming Hospital Stay
Tin Man's cardiologists couldn't wait for the kidney ultrasound. They requested a meeting with the kidney doctor today to come up with a game plan.
They decided to admit Tin Man to the hospital for a week (at least). Tin Man is hoping they can wait until the 12th so we can try to get our car fixed.
They are going start him on some meds to see if they can increase the kidney function. These meds will speed up his heart, so they want him in the hospital for this. The docs are hoping that getting his heart to pump more will increase the blood flow to the kidneys and increase how they are functioning and decrease his creatinine levels.
This is risky because Tin Man's heart gets overly excited when it pumps harder. Between the way his heart is formed and how sick it is, the top chamber and bottom chamber don't always work together like they should. Instead they try to out do each other and he ends up with his heart rate in the 250s or so. This happened one time while the kids and I were visiting him in the hospital. Let me tell you, its some scary stuff.
So between his history and the unknown with his heart, we all would rather be safe than sorry and have him admitted for the time being.
Right now he's Status 2 on the waiting list. This means that he's able to be at home and not confined to the hospital. While he's in the hospital he will be bumped up to 1B on the transplant list. This will put him a little higher on the list, so who knows what will happen in that week.
They decided to admit Tin Man to the hospital for a week (at least). Tin Man is hoping they can wait until the 12th so we can try to get our car fixed.
They are going start him on some meds to see if they can increase the kidney function. These meds will speed up his heart, so they want him in the hospital for this. The docs are hoping that getting his heart to pump more will increase the blood flow to the kidneys and increase how they are functioning and decrease his creatinine levels.
This is risky because Tin Man's heart gets overly excited when it pumps harder. Between the way his heart is formed and how sick it is, the top chamber and bottom chamber don't always work together like they should. Instead they try to out do each other and he ends up with his heart rate in the 250s or so. This happened one time while the kids and I were visiting him in the hospital. Let me tell you, its some scary stuff.
So between his history and the unknown with his heart, we all would rather be safe than sorry and have him admitted for the time being.
Right now he's Status 2 on the waiting list. This means that he's able to be at home and not confined to the hospital. While he's in the hospital he will be bumped up to 1B on the transplant list. This will put him a little higher on the list, so who knows what will happen in that week.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Neighborhood Police Activity
We moved from LA area in August 2008. Before we moved we constantly saw the police helicopter circling several times a day. Car chases were a daily thing, if not a couple times a day. We saw SWAT in our neighborhood 3 times in less than a year. Kids' school being on lockdown several times.
So when we moved up here, I was glad to be leaving all that behind us.
In the 3 1/2 years that we've lived here we've seen several hit and runs in front of our house. Those were mostly unlicensed drivers that took off. We've also seen 2 police chases, but again those were unlicensed drivers that weren't smart enough to just stop.
We do have crime here, but it usually stays in a certain area.
So when it came to our neighborhood, it was a little shocking.
There was a standoff with police 2 blocks from my house. From the news, the police went to serve a high risk warrant because one of them bought a gun. This lead to a 4 hour standoff.
Before anyone asks, these were taken from my yard, 2 blocks away from where it was actually going on.
So when we moved up here, I was glad to be leaving all that behind us.
In the 3 1/2 years that we've lived here we've seen several hit and runs in front of our house. Those were mostly unlicensed drivers that took off. We've also seen 2 police chases, but again those were unlicensed drivers that weren't smart enough to just stop.
We do have crime here, but it usually stays in a certain area.
So when it came to our neighborhood, it was a little shocking.
There was a standoff with police 2 blocks from my house. From the news, the police went to serve a high risk warrant because one of them bought a gun. This lead to a 4 hour standoff.
Before anyone asks, these were taken from my yard, 2 blocks away from where it was actually going on.
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