Angie & Jim

The Start of a Long Dayby Jim

Angie is having an ultrasound right now to check her internal organs.  She’s been down there for about 45 minutes.  At yesterday’s ultrasound they checked the fluid in her abdomen, but I guess they didn’t get instructions to look at anything else.  Oh, well.

Immediately after the ultrasound Angie will be going in for her cardiac catheterization.  I will keep the blog up-to-date with the news as it unfolds throughout the day.  They were also talking about doing a paracentesis today, but we’ll see how everything else progresses.

Catheterization Scheduledby Jim

Just a quick update:

The doctor came by a few minutes ago to tell us that the catheterization is scheduled for tomorrow morning.  Now that Angie can lie flat, they can do the procedure.  Hopefully it will tell us what is causing the build-up of fluid.  They have some ability to fix things while doing the procedure (e.g. putting in a stint), but if the heart function looks good, we’ll be back to the drawing board with trying to figure out what’s wrong.

Unexpected Hospital Visitby Jim

I know there are a lot of people who would like to know details as they happen, and instead of repeating myself to everyone over the phone or texts, I’ll try to put down as many details here on our blog.  I’ve got a few plugins installed so that you can sign up for notifications for new blog posts.  If you have questions, let me know and I can guide you through the process.

Last week on Saturday, Angie started feeling short of breath and had difficulty breathing.  She had just started a new medication, and so at first, we thought it was that.  She didn’t sleep well Saturday or Sunday, and tried to take it easy on Monday.  I came home from work early because she said she still wasn’t feeling well and by about 5:30, just standing up and walking around a little was really exhausting.  Her breathing had become labored and we decided to come to the hospital.  Instead of going to the nearest ER, we decided to drive down to Stanford (her regular hospital).  We’ve played that game before and we usually just end up here anyway, so we figured it was best to just come straight.

The ER here at Stanford was a little different than the ERs I’ve been to before.  First of all, we had to pass through security like at an airport.  We walked through a metal detector and had our bags searched.  We were then given a face mask and asked to put it on while in the ER waiting area.  It was a little strange.  Fortunately for us, Angie’s symptoms (difficulty breathing, shortness of breath) put us in the express lane and we were seen by a doctor within just a few minutes.  They got us to a bed in the ER and some very nice doctors and nurses came and listened to her breathe, gave her an EKG, checked her meds, asked a bunch of questions, took a chest x-ray, etc.  Before 2 hours were elapsed, we were told she was going to be admitted and before we’d been here 3 hours, she was on the floor.  That was the fastest ER visit we’ve had to date!

That first x-ray showed some fluid build-up in her lung cavity — not in the lung itself, but in the area around it.  This is the reason for the difficulty breathing.  Her oxygen levels were pretty low (the doctor in the ER asked if her “toenails are always this blue?”), so they gave her some oxygen.  They decided that they wanted to try and increase her medicine that removes fluid from her system before they actually go in and remove the fluid surgically.

That was last night.  This morning, things weren’t too much better, so they decided to do a procedure to put in a catheter to drain the fluid.  They also considered a thoracentisis, which is basically sticking a needle in your side and sucking the fluid out.  They didn’t want to have to do it multiple times, so they put in what is called a pigtail catheter so that they can drain it over the next day or two.  I think this is partly because they don’t yet know why the fluid is building up and how quickly it is.  Angie’s cardiologist, Dr. Lui, wants to do a catheterization, but that requires her to lay down flat for a period of time, which is hard to do when you’ve got fluid in your lung.  Before we can do the catheterization, we need to fix the fluid-in-the-lungs problem.  Catheterizations are a procedure that will allow them to see her heart function in a lot of detail.  Dr. Lui wants to make sure that the Fontan conversion she had back in 2007 is working properly (and if it isn’t, could be the cause of the fluid).

The surgeon came and did the pigtail catheter right here in our room.  It was about noon when he first came to set up.  They got all the sterile pads and equipment and prepped for about 30 minutes before they went in.  It is done with local anesthesia, but it was still really uncomfortable for Angie.  She said it was mostly a really strange (and startling) sensation to have something being threaded into her lung cavity.  The doctor also drew out about 600 ccs of fluid right away and sent some off for analysis.  Almost immediately, Angie could breathe more easily.  She’s got a chest tube and drainage box sitting by her bed now to collect the rest of the fluid over the next couple days.

Since then, Angie has had another chest x-ray, an ultrasound, and a late lunch.  She’s in good spirits and breathing better than she has in days.  She’s watching The Hobbit right now from the on-demand movies here at the hospital.  We will probably be here for a few days; tomorrow they’ll probably do the catheterization and possibly a paracentesis.

I will keep the blog up-to-date with the latest news as it comes.  If you sign up for notifications, use the Hospital Updates category.  I’ve also added a means to log in with your Google, Facebook, or Twitter accounts instead of having to create a new one just for our blog.

Thanks for your love & prayers.

We’re coming home!by Jim

The doctor just visited us and said he’s got the discharge papers processing.  We’ll be leaving soon!

Morning Newsby Jim

I’m with Angie again (after a good night’s sleep, thanks to Brandon and Mary) and we’re playing the waiting game some more.  All the tests have come back negative and besides a slightly enlarged spleen, everything looks pretty normal.  They’ve ordered a blood transfusion, because she is pretty low (and they’ve been taking so much to do tests), but that hasn’t happened yet.  It looks like they won’t be letting her go home tonight, which is saddening, but the doctor expressed his desire to get her out of the hospital as soon as possible, so hopefully it won’t be too much longer.

Yesterday, as I was walking around the floor, I saw a poster that discussed pain control and what the patient and nurses should be aware of.  I found this paragraph that piqued my interest.  I told Angie, and she was sad that she wasn’t in any pain, which makes her ineligible for pet therapy.  First world problems, I know.

Yellow socksby Jim

Because one of Angie’s symptoms is strong dizzy spells, there is an automatic concern about her walking around.  But, her doctor said he wants her to walk around and keep active while she’s here, so Angie got special yellow socks, which indicate to the other nurses that they have to keep an eye on her in case she falls.  Neat, huh?

So, an update on the situation: Angie’s heart is fine.  They are quite sure it is something else that is wrong.  There is something wrong with Angie’s blood.  Her protein is low and her blood count is low.  They can’t figure out where it is going, so they are running all sorts of tests.  They have an ultrasound scheduled and a few other tests, so we’re still waiting for news.  I’ll keep you posted.  Sorry I didn’t get this posted sooner; I slept in a little bit this morning (didn’t realize how tired I was).

Another trip to Stanfordby Jim

This morning Angie woke up feeling kind of crummy.  When she took her blood pressure, the little machine said her pulse was really high.  We called the hospital and they asked her to come in so they can monitor her for a day to see what is going on.  So here we are at Stanford.  They are probably going to kick me out any time now, since visiting hours ended at 8.  I’ll keep the blog up to date as I learn anything new.