Monday, May 9, 2011

Got excellent news today from the psychologist! She saw no signs of dementia from the testing that was done. She also doesn't think that he needs to be on some of medications so she is going to consult with the psychiatrist to see what she thinks. The thing that bothered her the most is that I was in the testing room with him the last time in Memphis. She said that that was entirely inappropriate. She wanted to know the name of the Dr. and where the test was administered. I don't know if she is planning on calling them or not.

We have to make 1 more trip to the clinic in the morning. They added a pulse ox monitor tonight while he is sleeping and we have to turn the device in in the morning. Then we will hit the road to come home. We are both ready to sleep in our own bed!

The drs. have said that they will contact us, probably next week, to let us know what is going to be the game plan. So, when we know something, I'll let everyone know.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Easier day today. Only 1 appointment and it was this morning so we had the rest of the day free. Today saw the pschiatrist and she's concerned that Bill has been on the Aricept and Namenda as long as he has. From what Dr. Salguerio has said it is because of his age and it's being used as a memory enhancer. She did agree that he had a major depressive episode in the past but she's concerned about the drugs.

Monday he see the psychologist for some tests and then he is finished and we'll head for home Tuesday.

Tomorrow Don and Shirley, Bill's sister and her husband are coming up from Brandon for lunch before heading home to Clearwater. It will be nice to visit with them for awhile.

Probably won't update anymore until after the appointment Monday. Have a good week-end and Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers reading this.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Whata long day! Started out with registration at about 6:30, followed by labs and then EKG and chest x-ray. We then had about a 2 hour break before we saw anyone from the transplant side. Saw 2 nurses and then spent an hour with Dr. Yip.

As always there is good news and bad news. The good news is that he was pleased with Bill's overall health and the medications he's on. He did add 1 new medicine and tweaked another one but made no other changes. Depending on the results of the psych evals tomorrow and Monday, he will decided if Bill will be listed for transplant, recommended for the heart pump which is the device that Dick Cheney has implanted, or just managed for heart failure. If he thinks that Bill would be a good candidate for transplant we would come back here in a month or so for some more extensive testing. Also, if he is listed, and he moves more toward the top of the list, we would have to spend several months here in Florida.

Now, for the bad news. Because Bill is O+ blood type, which is the most common, the waiting list for those hearts can be several years. Since he had been on the list for 2 years in Memphis, we already know it can be a long wait.

He did want Bill to try walking more to see if that helps his fatigue. Starting at 10 minutes twice a day. He said it wasn't the speed walked, or the distance walked, but the time walking. So, he's going to try that. This is also to try to build stamina because he wants to do a pulmonary treadmill test if we come back.

All in all we learned quite a bit that we hadn't been told before. The 3 drs we would see if he does get included in the program are pretty well known in the medical world. Dr. Yip is the head of the department, another one has written the textbook that all transplant drs. use and the other one came from the Cleveland Clinic which is one of the premier transplant centers in the nation. So he would be in excellent hands.

So, it was a really busy day and we are really tired. We've had an early dinner (I love crockpots!)and as soon as it gets dark we may hit the hay. We have to be back at 8 in the morning but that is the only appointment and then we may hit the beach and do some shopping.

I'll update everyone tomorrow!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

It's a good thing I decided to call home and check messages! There was a call from Mayo changing Bill's 1st appointment time from 9:30 to 7:10! We would really have been late!

We drove to the clinic today. What a huge campus, but well marked and easy to get to. We'll see how it is in the morning when it will be shift change. We don't know when his other appointments are since the message said that we could pick up a new schedule at our first appointment.

After checking out the clinic today we drove on to Jacksonville Beach. Didn't go to the beach, just drove around and looked at the sights. Since we're supposed to have a lighter day Friday we're planning on going to the beach then. But, with the schedule changes, who knows what we'll do. Bill's sister Shirley and her husband Donald are coming up from Clearwater Saturday. She's judging a musical contest in Brandon tomorrow and Friday and will only be about 60 miles from here. So, before they go home, they're going to come here and meet us for lunch.

All for tonight. I'll post more tomorrow after we start seeing the doctors.

Monday, May 2, 2011

We have made it to sunny Florida! All of our travelling has been uneventful except for through Memphis on the first day. But, that rain was nothing compared to what friends and family are dealing with at home.

We haven't been to the clinic yet. Our hotel is about 8 miles from there. We are going to check it out tomorrow to see just how to get there. His first appointment is not until Thursday morning so we're just going to relax the next couple of days, maybe go to the beach.

I'll keep ya'll posted when we know what's going on.