Going Homeby Jim
16 Sep 2024
12:09 pm0
The nurse just told us that she’s ready to start the discharge process. The requirements for her to go home were 1) walk around 2) eat food 3) use the bathroom. Angie has had her walk, eaten lunch, and used the restroom. The nurse is reading her the discharge instructions right now, so we’re almost ready. The IV is still in, and that’s usually our gauge for when they’re serious about us going home. We’ve had to stay even after they told us we were going home, so we wait until the IV before we consider ourselves ready to go home.
We have not heard results from the cardiologist, but the doctor did tell us that the preliminary results from the catheterization was okay. The numbers were in the normal range, they weren’t great, but they weren’t terrible. So I guess that’s as good as we can expect.
When they put the IV in earlier this morning, we told them that sometimes it is hard to place, so they called in a specialist to put it in using an ultrasound! I’d never seen that before, and it was pretty cool. We could see on the ultrasound the vein and then the needle as she pushed it in.
Okay, and now the IV is out! We’re headed home. Thanks for following along today!
Catheterization at Lucile Packardby Jim
16 Sep 2024
7:09 am1
We just checked in at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital for Angie’s catheterization. This is one of the many tests they want to do for her transplant evaluation. She’s had several of these before, so we’re pretty familiar with the routine. They’ll be putting a catheter up into her heart to measure pressures and function and see how her heart is doing. She stays awake the whole time, but under mild sedation. The procedure is low risk and should only take a couple hours. It’s really incredible to me that they can do something like this to gather the information they need. We’re really fortunate to live in a time and place that has the technology and personnel who can do this stuff.
Normally, this procedure is same day and we’d be going home afterward. Angie is 2nd in the cath lab today, so she’ll be going in around 10 PDT. They told us to be prepared to stay overnight for observation, but they told us that last time and we ended up going home that same day. I guess it really depends on what they see and how Angie recovers. I’ll post again after the procedure when we know more. Thanks for following along!
UPDATE 12:06: I’m in recovery with Angela and we just spoke to the surgeon. He said everything went well and he thinks we’ll probably go home today. (Yay!) Angie has to lay flat for a couple hours under observation before she’s allowed to get up, that’s to make sure she’s safe after going in through a major artery. I’ll add another post when we’re ready to head home.
On Our Way Homeby Jim
3 Jul 2024
1:07 pm0
It’s standard procedure to make sure a patient is able to sit, then stand, then walk to the bathroom before they’re willing to discharge you. Well, I’m happy to report that Angie passed her sitting/standing/walking test with flying colors and they are letting us go home today! No overnight stay, yay! (This hotel is a little pricey for our taste, anyway.) We’ll get our discharge instructions and prescription and we should be home in a couple hours. We’ll probably hit some commuter traffic, but it shouldn’t be too bad. Thanks for following along today. We’ll have more news soon with results from the biopsy and other transplant news coming in the next few weeks. If you want to be notified, you can sign up for email notifications of new posts.
Successful Surgeryby Jim
3 Jul 2024
8:07 am1
The doctor just called and let me know that the surgery was successful and the new pacemaker has been installed. Angie is in recovery and I should be able to go back and see her in about 90 minutes. Mom and I are up on the roof garden enjoying a little fresh air while we wait. Mom brought a little puzzle she’s showing me, which is a fun distraction.
Pacemaker Replacementby Jim
3 Jul 2024
4:07 am0
Good morning! We’re here at the hospital bright and early for Angie’s second surgery in two weeks. The one good thing about having to report to the hospital at 5 AM is that there is no traffic, even heading into Silicon Valley. Today’s surgery is a little more involved than last time, but still shouldn’t be too bad. Her battery has been running low, so they wanted to replace her pacemaker. It usually lasts several years, and she’s had this one for a while, so it’s time. She’s 100% pacemaker dependent, so we can’t let the battery die. They’ve been monitoring it for a while to be sure she’s safe.
We haven’t received the results from the biopsy from last week yet, but I’ll post here when we do. They originally told her that she would need to stay overnight for observation even though this surgery today is usually a same-day surgery. Then at her pre-op appointment yesterday they said they might let her go home today if everything is looking good. Well, they asked her if she would prefer to stay at the hospital or go home instead. She pointed out that she always sleeps better when she doesn’t have an IV in her arm, so she’d prefer to go home. So, we’re hoping for a speedy recovery and a quick discharge today. If not, it should be early tomorrow at the latest.
Back Home and Recoveringby Jim
25 Jun 2024
1:06 pm2
The procedure went fine and we’re back home now. She’s on the couch and watching some All Creatures Great & Small. Should just be a couple days recovery. Angie has another surgery in a couple weeks, so we’ll be posting again soon. Thanks!
Quick Procedureby Jim
25 Jun 2024
5:06 am0
Angie is in for another biopsy today. It should be a relatively quick procedure. We had to arrive really early again today, leaving the house at 4:30 AM. Not long ago, I believe during a CT scan, they found a mass near her spine. Before proceeding with her transplant evaluation, her doctors wanted to biopsy the mass to make sure it is benign. So, here we are. They just took Angie back to get her IV, and I should get to see her before they start the procedure. I’ll post here again when we know more.