82 Post Transplant - 2 weeks in hospital

Yes, we are still here. The last few days have been pretty frustrating. It seams as though Jim has been going down hill instead of getting better. He is a ton weaker than he was last week and his mental status has been diminished. The last couple of days I have been worried. We found out yesterday that one of his medications (Digoxin) was at toxic levels. About Double what it should be. It is such a serious thing that all health care professionals know about "Digoxin Toxicity." I don't know how long his levels have been this high but it is possible that many of the issues he has been having could be due to this. I am certain that the diminished mental capacity is due to the high level. The drug stays in your system for quite a while so now we wait to see what happens as his levels go down. Today I think he appears to be less shaky and his brain seams to be processing a little better. He was not so lethargic today and ate much better. So, hopefully that is the culprit and things will be getting better. For now, we just hang in there.

Today I AM THANKFUL FOR small improvements.

80 Days Post Transplant - Jim still in hospital

Yes, Jim is still here at the hospital. It appears that this so called "Tune Up" is turning out to be a little more like an overhaul. What the docs were thinking would be a few days is now almost 2 weeks. We still don't really have any answers. He totally swelled up the other day and they thought he had a clot around his IV line. It turns out that there was not a clot but the veins are just narrowing and collapsing because of all of the lines he has had. So, they removed that line and put another one in on the other side. The lines go directly to his heart and are lines that can stay in a while. When he was being fluid overloaded his blood pressure changes seem to have been better, but now that they have decreased the fluids he is still having the wild pressure swings along with the dizzy spells. The kidney specialists have looked at his kidneys and there is kidney damage but the docs think that they will heal themselves. Jim has been getting physical therapy every day but most of it is done in the bed because of his weakness and blood pressure changes. The CMV is gone in his blood but he is still having stomach pain. He again received 2 units of blood and platelets yesterday.

So basically IDK (I Don't Know) seams to be the answer for everything. Other than the blood conversion, we don't know why everything is so wacky. He is a mystery. I think that the docs think that all of this is just going to take time and hope allot will resolve itself. I have no idea how much longer he will be here. From my point of view he does not seem any better than he was two weeks ago. I am not saying that the hospitalization was a waste though. They have been able to run alot of tests to make sure vital organs are ok, they have been able to give him blood and platelets when needed and watch his labs. I just wish we could have a little more definitive answers. You know, the crystal ball would be good. So, we watch and wait.

I still have this lingering cold. One day I will feel ok and the next I will be back in bed. I was supposed to work on Friday and I called in sick because I spent the entire day in bed on Thursday. I was coughing up a lung and sounded terrible. Yesterday I felt lousy again. So, I did not come around Jim. Brendan came and spent the day with his Dad. I did however rally the kids together to do some long awaited yard work. One thing Jim always took alot of pride in was our yard. I am not saying it is anything special but he always kept it clean and well kept. This is a man who would get on his hands and knees and dig out the dandelions one at a time. Because of the weird season this year and Jim issues we have been slow to clean it up. Now I have to preface and say that I know that any of our Friends, neighbors, family or church members would have come and helped us. We already had friends trim our big oak trees and get our sprinklers going, but I wanted my kids to take pride in it. I am not teaching them anything if they watch everyone swoop in and do everything while they sit and watch TV. I had to say that because I know that some friends after reading this blog will get after me for not getting help. Anyway, the whole purpose of telling this is to tell you how proud of my kids I am. Yesterday we mowed, trimmed, fertilized, weeded, and prepared and planted a garden. The best part was that everyone worked together and it was done with very little attitude and bickering. Those of you with teenagers or kids at all know that that is a rare happening. As I was pulling away from the house today, I looked at my yard and thought how proud Jim will be of his kids. There was no hand removing dandelions but it is clean and done. Yea!

Today I AM THANKFUL that it is a beautiful sunny day.

75 Days Post Transplant - Jim still in Hospital

Friday night I stayed the night with Jim. On Saturday I realized I wasn't feeling so well. So, after realizing I had a cold I stayed away from the hospital for two days. That was brutal not to be able to come and be with him. Thankfully he had some family members and friends visit him so he wasn't completely alone. Truth be told he probably was glad to have a break from the task master that I am. So, today with mask on I am back. So first order of business, get that man a shower. As funny as that seams, when you don't have any strength or energy getting a shower can wipe you out for the day. Even simple things like eating a meal. He dreads eating because he knows it will take a whole hour to eat and then he is exhausted. He is definitely getting some strength back though.

So, here is where we are at. Blood is still trying to convert. The cardiologists have looked at his heart and the heart looks good. I always knew he had a good heart. (Ha Ha). Kidneys are still having issues so those specialists are looking into that. They have pumped him full of fluids which have made him swollen but still are not getting to the kidneys. Blood pressure is doing better. He is not having the dizzy and fainting spells as much. The steroids have wasted much of his muscle tone, so he is still very weak. So pretty much the doctors think that this is still all related to the blood conversion {or lack of } medications and the CMV virus. They are pretty much giving him the support he needs to get through this. He has received multiple blood transfusions since he has been here. Also physical therapy is working with him to build his strength back up. Surprisingly enough he is still maintaining his good spirits most of the time. I don't think he is too depressed or frustrated. He still has hope in the process and knows that this is just one more hurdle he needs to get past. We don't believe that any of these issues are life threatening at this time, so that is good. We still don't know how long Jim will be here in the hospital. I know they want to have a handle on everything and make sure all of his major organs are ok before they send him home. It is possible he could be home as early as the end of this week. I hope but I also don't want them to send him home too soon and a mess. So, we will see what happens.

The kids are doing fine. This is the last week of school. Yea! I love it when my kids are home. Things are definitely more chaotic with them home all day but there is also that since of carefreeness (if that is even a word) that comes with summer. We lose all structure at our house. I think that is what summer is about. For me that is probably good, because I am a very OCD structure loving freak of a person. It helps me relax and let go a little. I have to say that by the end of the summer I always hate to see my kids go back to school but ready for structure in my life again. I guess it is all about balance.

Today, I AM THANKFUL that I can get back to being with my sweetheart.