post-transplant UPDATES
1/23 2:30 PM - Kelli is being discharged from the hospital today. The process is underway to send her home, so I suspect somewhere between 4-6 PM she will be back in the comfort of her own home. Updates will come as they are available.
1/23 11:00 AM - Kelli told me
just a few minutes ago that they will be discharging her Saturday
the 24th with the drain and bag still in. While this was
mentioned early on this week, she had hoped that it would not be so.
While it's not the news we like to hear, we understand, again, that
it is part of the process. They will teach us how to care for
it, and it will be good.
To steal a line from "Rocky", as he's encouraging his young
student, Tommy Gunn and says, "Fighting is like 90% in da brain and
10% muscle, you got two good fists and a good heart beat, you got
what it takes." (Paraphrase)
We know Kelli has a GREAT heart beat - and she has
what it takes to go the distance and stand the victor! Eye of
the Tiger!
1/22 7:00 PM - This would have been yesterday's update, but I missed yesterday's posting, so Kelli says to put this online now. Information that was learned from the appointment the other day and from the resulting drain surgery revealed some interesting info.
1.) We were allowed to view Kelli's old heart and we took many pictures and even a video of Kelli handling it. I am currently building an area for this website that will host these pictures and video for educational purposes.
2.) We were also told that Kelli's old heart continued to beat for almost 8 minutes after being removed from her body. Interesting!
3.) The results of the pathology report revealed that her old heart weighed in at 591 grams (approx 1.5 lbs). The normal size heart is relative to the size of your fist. Hers was almost three times the normal size.
4.) During the drain tube surgery, there was about 1 quart of fluid removed from the pericardial sac.
5.) The results from this surgery (despite the increased pain) has allowed Kelli to breathe even better than she was prior to the surgery. (She didn't even realize she was having any issues with her breathing since transplant as she doesn't know what "normal breathing" feels like anymore. So, she was surprised to learn in that respect that should could feel even better than she had been post-transplant.
Sorry I missed posting this information yesterday. But here it is - all the news that's fit to print. "And that's the way it is, January 22, 2009".
1/22 3:00 PM - The updates are progressing slowly; my apologies. Other than some lingering issues with pain from the recent surgery to drain off the excess fluid that had pooled around her heart, Kelli is doing well. Her heart is in excellent shape. There are no rejection issues. Kelli reports that her breathing is even better since this fluid has been removed (and she wasn't even aware that her breathing had any concerns prior to). So, the news is good. It's been an emotional roller-coaster ride for her and for all of us surrounding her. We've all experienced the high and low points with her this week, but probably the hardest part has been dealing with the "backwards slide" as it were from being home last week and active to spending this week back in the hospital. But, it's all part of the process. She's hanging tough, taking care of business and will be back home soon living life large! Thank you all for your continued prayers. God bless.
1/20/09 10:00 PM - Most of you know today got pretty wild for a bit Our routine biopsy appointment landed Kelli in the hospital for a couple days. We were told by many we will encounter a few bumps in the road along the journey, but that's all they are; bumps.
An early morning EKG and echo-cardio gram showed some fluid build up around the pericardial sac (I hope I said that right). So, to remedy this, Kelli was admitted and tomorrow morning at approximately 6:15 AM, they will go in via the lower portion of her incision, drain out the fluid and put in a drain tube that will allow the excess fluid to be pulled away from the sac. While this sounds scary, we are told it's common and again, the assurances of this amazing team of medical professionals leaves us with great comfort knowing Kelli is in the best hands!
Early fears of possible rejection issues that were milling about were put to rest around 5 PM this evening when the results of the biopsy returned showing once again, that God is still answering prayers. The results revealed a perfect score - no rejection! So we continue to pray that tomorrow will go smoothly, that fluid will drain off as hoped and recovery will go quickly and Kelli can return home soon.
1/19 8:00 PM - Kelli has her first outpatient biopsy of her new heart tomorrow. She was given her actual first biopsy before discharge from the hospital, so while this is technically her second biopsy, it will be her first since being released from the hospital last week. Pray that all continues to go well - we're looking for that 0% rejection again like we had on the first.
