Thursday, February 23, 2012

Another 2 weeks have gone by. Since Bill only sees the dr. every two weeks now we have a lot of down time. He got another good report this week. He didn't see the dr., but saw the nurse practioner. At his next 2 appointments he sees a new dr. who has just arrived from Dallas.

He finishes rehab tomorrow and he's looking forward to that, but I think he will miss going and seeing all of the girls. It will be hard to make ourselves go to the fitness center so that he can continue exercising. But it's necessary so that he will be as strong as possible when then call comes for his heart.

Today we celebrated his 69th birthday! We are just thankful that he made it to another birthday! Shirley and Don, sister and brother-in-law, came up from Clearwater to celebrate with us. Had a nice dinner out at Applebees tonight and planning a trip to the beach after rehab tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be pretty nice and warm. Today it was in the low 80s with a nice breeze...so comfortable. By the end of the week-end it's supposed to be rainy and in the low 60s. But, we will take whatever comes.

Don't get too concerned if there are no frequent posts. Since things are spacing out more, there isn't much going on. Of course, if and when something happens, I will get this updated. So, keep checking in to see if the dates have changed on the posts.

Have a great week-end!

Saturday, February 11, 2012

And then there were two!

We've had a much better week healthwise than last week. The intestinal bug is gone, apparently the UTI Bill had is cleared up, and he got an excellent report from Tina and Dr. Hosenpud.

Tina looked at his drive line site and said that it looked better than any of her other patients. She even made the comment that I should be teaching other caregivers on how to do it! Dr. Hosenpud said that flights have resumed so their area of harvest is bigger again. He did say that there is 1 in hospital with the same blood type and body size and he doesn't want to bump Bill up until he is transplanted. That is entirely understandable. He also said that he usually doesn't have anyone waiting more than 6 months, and that is because of an unusual body size. So, it may not be long now. Of course, those are only estimates of time. And, if for some reason, the other patient is unable to accept a heart, such as being too sick, I think it will be offered to Bill anyway.

He has 2 weeks of rehab left. They wanted him to continue but at $140 per session, that's a little steep. Insurance will only pay for 12 weeks and that cost would have to come out of our pocket. But, since we have the fitness center here, he can still get some exercise in. We have to take them a list of the machines available to see what he can use in addition to the treadmill.

All for now. Hope everyone has a great week-end.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

It seems like a very long time since I've updated anything.

We haven't had a real good week. I caught an intestinal virus Monday, and of course, gave it to Bill by Tuesday. Didn't realize how much you take the 2nd bathroom for granted...until you don't have it anymore! I recovered really quickly, but Bill has not. He is still having cramping everythime he eats something, no matter what he eats.

Of course we've been in touch with Tina about it. There's not much he can take because it needs to work itself out of his system. He's lost the weight that he had gained over Christmas, but of course doesn't feel like eating now. Even soft foods are not settling with him.

He did manage to get through rehab Friday. He has almost completed his 12 weeks and they would like to have him continue. Insurance won't pay for any more right now so they are checking into the cost. They do have a special plan for those who want to continue. They just want him to be as strong as possible for the transplant.

We're hoping to go to the beach today to walk the pier, but since he has been so weak I don't know if we will make it or not. We walked to the mailbox yesterday and had to sit and rest before he was able to come back. He hasn't been that weak for a long time now. We see the dr. again this week so maybe they will be able to tell something.

All for now. Have a great day!