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.

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.

Heard from Mayo yesterday and Bill has an appointment on May 6! We were already going to be in Georgia the week before visiting the boys so now we'll just go one to Florida from there. He was told they would try to get all of the tests done in 1 day, but it could take 2. But, that's not a problem!

He's very excited about this new chance! He tries not to worry me too much about things, but I know it had bothered him that he had been put out to pasture with no thought what that decision means to the patient.

He had a really good day Sunday. Said that he felt better than he had in a long time. I, on the other hand, was feeling poorly. Spring is going to get the best of me since it's starting to bother me already. The pleurisy signs are all coming back. This is not good, especially with the news yesterday. I'll have to see if there is some kind of treatment that can be done. Just an inhaler would probably help. I just feel all congested.

All for now. This will be updated a little more often now that something is happening! Think good thoughts, please!

Well, we've sent the records off to the Mayo Clinic and have confirmation that it has been received. They have to request the records from transplant so we included the release for that.

We took Brianna and McKenna to Illinois last week to have lunch with Mom, Ronna and Brooke. Had a good time, but it was a long day of driving for a 2 hour visit. I'm just glad that Mom felt like doing it since it's the same distance for them.

This week we made reservations in Georgia to see the boys. Haven't seen Harris since 2008 I think and haven't seen Joe or John since 2009. It should be a good trip.

Other that this, nothing is happening here, which is good and bad. But, like I said before, this is just a waiting game.

No apologies for not updating this sooner. As I said before, sometimes on this journey nothing much happens.

Bill has been removed from the transplant list in Memphis due to his age. It was discouraging when he first received the letter. But then, we decided that we are not really tied to home. The house is paid for, our income is good without including my income, so we could go to another area if necessary. So, online search for other transplant programs that do not have age requirements. So far the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fl. is at the top of the list. Bill has talked to them and they emailed a form to fill out. They also have requested the last 90 days of medical reports. Got the paperwork from Dr. Burnett and still waiting on the file from the transplant clinic.

On a more positive note, another device check was done last week and everything looked good. The med tweak that was ordered last month is working.

We spent the week-end at the Tennessee River at Pickwick Landing State Park. It is a very peaceful place, just sitting and watching the river. Heard a large ship go through the locks in the night but it was too dark to see much. We only left the lodge once and that was to get something to eat on Saturday night. Jjust getting out of town was the best part.

So, all for now. I'll let you know when we hear something, good or bad. Thanks for caring enough to read this, and for the prayers.

The month seems to be flying by! I had always heard that time goes faster when you get older and I never actually believed it, but it sure seems like it's true.

Bill had a monitor check yesterday in the wee hours of the morning and the results this time were not good. He apparently has a lot of fluid build-up this time, unlike December when everything looked good. He said he hasn't had any weight gain but he has had some shortness of breath and being tired. Of course he put that down to helping Ron get this project finished. He is concerned about it enough that he talked about it some after we went to bed, not just when he told me that they had called.
Of course these are just the monitoring people. They can interpret the reading but they can't adjust his meds or anything. All they can do is show the results to the doctors. He has appointments all day long on February 15 so we will probably find something out then.

It bothers him so that he can't do what he wants to do! He says he doesn't feel depressed about it, just kinda of discouraged. I think his mind kind of tells him that he can do everything he did before and then his body lets him down.

I told him that I can tell that he has deteriorated some just by looking at him and watching him. I don't think he realizes how many little catnaps he takes watching tv. for example. I keep trying to tell him to stay in bed in the morning instead of getting up so early with me. I also wish he would tell me when the shortness of breath happens. He does tell me that he is tired but that's all he tells me. I told him the shortness of breath was a major danger sign that he needs to pay attention to, but, stubborn man that he is, he won't do it.

We'll see after the dr visits if I need to definitely retire or if just tweaking some drugs will work to help. Keep the prayers coming. We wouldn't be this far if it weren't for them.

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope that everyone had a blessed Christmas and is looking forward to the new year. Our Christmas was special again this year. Bill's sister and her husband came up from Florida. This was the first time they had been here and, we found out later, the first Christmas they had spent away from home! We had a wonderful visit with them. All Shirley wanted for Christmas was snow and a fire in the fireplace. The fire was easy to do, and we had fires daily. It also helped that it was really cold! It also snowed Christmas morning! Nothing stayed on the ground, but it was pretty as it was falling. Don wanted a winning lottery ticket so Bill put some scratch-off tickets in everyone's stocking. Don ended up winning $20! Talk about your perfect hosts!

Bill has been pretty tired since they went home last week and he's having a hard time dealing with things going on in the church. We are probably going to leave this church and find another. He's been very upset about it and it's affecting his sleep and his appetite. He's going to council with a respected friend and former pastor for some guidance in this.

No dr. appointments until the middle of February and the extra amiodorone has kept his heart rate around 70. That's a little higher than normal, but not in the danger area at all. He will probably have that amount reduced when we go to Memphis next month. A device check was done either right before or right after Christmas and everything looked fine. It didn't show any rapid heart beats or fluid build-up.

People have asked if he is still on the transplant list. The answer is yes. Even though it seems like he's been on it forever, it's still been under 2 years and the average wait for a heart is 18 months. We are just past 20 months. It's become a way of life, not even thinking about it. We don't sit and wait for the phone to ring, and we're not afraid to leave the house in case we miss the call. We just make sure that 1 of us always has our cell phone.

All for this time. I'll try to do better to keep this thing updated this year. As I said before, this journey has days and weeks and months when nothing happens. And we lead very normal, boring lives!

Blessings to all!