post-transplant UPDATES
04/17/09 6:00 AM - The last 48 hours have been kind of rough, emotionally and physically for Kelli. Until one stops to really think about it, we don't grasp the full picture of what she is dealing with from all the various angles. (And even then we can only begin to imagine what the reality might be.)
Although she was given a new heart and is on recovery road and appears totally capable of resuming all normal life activities, this just isn't the case in reality, not yet anyhow. There's a lot of emotional issues to digest that we on the outside can't even begin to comprehend. Likewise the physical adjustments that occur that we aren't fully aware of combined with the emotional can at times wreak havoc. Such has been the case this week. Kelli is a trooper and generally refuses to complain or show signs of weariness, but it's been hard for her to maintain her normal heightened level of jovialness these past couple days.
The doctors are working to make the appropriate adjustments in medicine to balance out recent weight gain and rejection issues and that in itself takes it's toll on her. I would ask for your prayers once again that she find strength and comfort during this particular period of struggle. We have every confidence in reaching the light at the end of this tunnel, but the tunnel is not a straight one and some of these bends in the road can be dark and frightening, therefore any additional light that can be cast by the prayers and support of her friends and family are greatly appreciated. Thank you all. God bless.
04/15/09 11:00 AM - Kelli called with the results of yesterday's tests and it is an issue of further rejection. The doctors are raising one of her medications to accommodate for this and will test again in a week to see what the results are at that point. No "alarms" are being sounded at this point, but this is certainly not the direction we want to go. Please keep her in your prayers that this issue will turn around and those rejection numbers retreat back to that 0 level we are looking for. Also, pray that she find that peace and assurance that will offer her comfort during these trying and worrisome times. Thank you.
04/14/09 1:00 PM - Kelli called me about a half hour ago with the results of the biopsy from yesterday. This time the results came back with a question mark. The test showed that her rejection level is still a "1b", but it also showed signs that she might be fighting some type of infection, so they sent her to her general practitioner for a test to determine whether or not this anomaly is in fact an infection or just what exactly it is so that they can adjust medications to take care of the situation. At this point no "alarms" are going off so we will wait and see what the results of this next test around 3:15 PM today reveal. I will post it as I know it.
04/13/09 10:30 AM - They just took Kelli in for her biopsy this morning. Kelli arrived at the hospital this morning with a grim outlook on the day. Her spirit was low, she even made the comment that they would probably keep her today. But, as it turns out, the coordinator sprung into the room after reading the results of the echo-cardiogram and exclaimed, "Are you ready for some really good news!" She reported that the once leaky valve is now normal along with all the other reading from the echo. The hearts ejection fraction is 65% which is extremely good considering 50-60% is the norm. So, with that, Kelli's spirit lifted and off to the biopsy she went. (I will post those results tomorrow once they are made available to us.)
