All Done!by Jim
1 May 2024
8:05 am0
I’m with Angie in the recovery area and she’s still pretty sleepy. The procedure went fine and the nurse has already read us our discharge instructions. It’s all pretty standard stuff. When she’s a little more awake, they’ll take her blood pressure lying, sitting, and standing to make sure she’s okay to walk around and then I’ll be taking her home. Thanks for following along today!
In the Operating Roomby Jim
1 May 2024
6:05 am2
I just got a text saying Angie has entered the operating room. I was with her just a couple minutes ago while she was in pre-op. She’s in good spirits and ready for her procedure, which should be relatively quick.
They’re doing a transjugular liver biopsy to get some important readings. Normally, they’d do the biopsy by just going in from the outside (rather than through her neck), but her cardiologist wants them to do it transjugular so they can get some extra readings from insider her circulatory system. It’s more complicated and takes a little longer, but they want the extra data.
It’s been about 6 years since her last biopsy and they want to see how her liver is doing. The results of this biopsy might change our long-term plans quite a bit. Dr. Lui feels that if Angie’s liver is doing well enough, it’s possible that he will want her to get a regular heart transplant instead of the heart-liver double transplant we’ve been talking about for the last few years. There are several benefits to this plan. First of all, transplanting a single organ is just simpler. Recovery is easier, risk is lower, surgery is shorter, finding a donor organ is easier, etc. Angie’s been on a medication for the last 5 years that can become harmful to her body if she takes it too long, and there isn’t really another medication that will work for her, so we’re up against the clock. If we switch plans to a regular heart transplant, one reason may be to move up the timetables and get the surgery sooner so Angie won’t have to take that medication any longer. And by sooner, that’s relative. Nothing would probably happen for at least 6 months. But once we’re on the list, it could be weeks or years before we get her a new heart.
So, the procedure today is relatively simple and safe, but the results of it (which probably won’t come for a few weeks) may be very important.
Thanks for reading!
Liver Biopsyby Jim
1 May 2024
4:05 am0
Good morning! Yesterday, Angie got a phone call to let us know that we needed to be here bright and early at 5:15 AM. The good news is, there was practically no traffic on our way to Stanford. The bad news is, we had to wake up at 4:30. Ugh.
We’re here in the waiting room filling out the paperwork. I’ll post any important updates throughout the day here. Thanks for following along.
We’re Home!by Jim
20 Mar 2023
11:03 am2
We just arrived home. Angie’s nurse practitioner, Rosalie, stopped by just before we left and talked to us for a few minutes. She said that everything looked good and that we should be getting a call from the team sometime later this week. She reaffirmed what the doctor said about the measurements they got from the procedure–that they were just barely different, but not enough to warrant any major change to Angie’s care. This news was better than we expected. Thank you all for your thoughts/prayers/concern for us. We love and appreciate all of you.
Going Home Soonby Jim
20 Mar 2023
10:03 am3
The nurse just read us our discharge instructions, so that’s an excellent sign we will not be staying overnight. We were prepared to stay, just in case, but the anesthesiologist (who stopped by) said we should be discharged by about noon.
Since Angie had a venous catheterization, that means a faster recovery. Femoral catheterizations require that you lie flat for 4 hours without moving after the procedure, which can get real boring. Venous catheterizations only require 1 hour of no movement after you wake up.
We may or may not get a visit from Angie’s cardiologist before we head out. We think the nurse practitioner will stop by before we leave and I’ll post anything important she tells us.
So Far, So Goodby Jim
20 Mar 2023
9:03 am0
I just finished speaking with the doctor that did the procedure. Angie did just fine and they were able to do a venous catheter (through the neck) instead of a femoral catheter, which means she’ll have a quicker, easier recovery. They didn’t have to do any fixes (they can fix or other problems while they’re in there), which was good news. Dr. Mcelhinney said her numbers looked a little worse than her last catheterization. His initial analysis is that this will not drastically change things. Dr. Lui (her cardiologist) has not yet see the results and will be consulting with us (possibly) later today. His interpretation of the results will be more conclusive. There’s a team of doctors that would be responsible for changing her current heart failure designation (currently at mild/moderate), so we may need to wait a bit for the official word.
Angie is still in recovery and I’m not allowed back to see her. I’ll post again when she’s awake. They just called me to go see her, so it should be soon.
In the Cath Labby Jim
20 Mar 2023
8:03 am0
They’ve taken Angie back to the Cath lab for her procedure today. We’re at the children’s side of the hospital and they’re always so much more fun. The nurses were super nice and we joked and laughed together while they were getting her ready. Angie got her IV put in by a nurse that used an ultrasound and local anesthesia using a new device that is basically a hypo spray from Star Trek. It’s a little injection device that uses pressure to push the numbing medication through her skin without a needle. It sounded like opening a soda can when she fired it. We both thought it was pretty cool. Angie said the fancy IV placement was less focused pain, but it still wasn’t pleasant. For you D&D nerds out there, she said, “it felt like it changed from piercing damage to force damage.” That made me laugh. I love you, Angie.
I’ll keep you posted here as she progresses through the day.