Just a short post tonight. We made it to our first stop about 3 this afternoon. We both slept really well last night and left the hotel about 9 this morning. We didn't get to Bob Evans but hit Dennys instead and were on the road at exactly 10. The weather was clear, the traffic was light, and it was a pleasant day to be on the road.

Stephanie called with the results and again, no rejection! All of his arteries were clear and there are no med changes except for adding the Fosomax. We don't have to go back for 3 months. We don't have any dates yet but they will send an itinerary.

We took the bandages off the groin incisions tonight and the sites look really good except for some bruising. But, those will go away! Other than that, no ill effects from the procedure. The cocktail of drugs he got kept him from reacting to the dye. It would have been a very uncomfortable ride for him if he hadn't had it.

We'll get home sometime tomorrow afternoon, depending on how early we get on the road in the morning. My preference is to leave early and have breakfast while rush hour in Montgomery ends, but who knows. We'll just have to wait and see.

What an exhausting day! But, it could have been worse. Just as they were getting ready to take Bill from the holding area I noticed a huge swollen area at his IV site. The vein had occluded and the fluid was just sitting there. So, an emergency new IV was placed in the other arm and hot packs were put on the original arm to move the fluid around.

Dr. Hosenpud said that the cath went well. He did say that his arterial pressures were up but he expected that due to the long recovery. He also said the heart was rather stiff but the output was good. I've tried to access his records to get a little more info, but they haven't been updated yet. When I get more I'll let you know.

They were unable to use his femoral artery because of too much scar tissue so they had to use the vein on the left side. This led to small incisions on both sides. Bill, being the stubborn person that he is, refused to keep his head on the pillow and the femoral site started bleeding. After 15 minutes of pressure it had finally stopped and a special "safeguard" was put on. This is an additional seal that is placed on the site and then pumped full of air to put additional pressure on the site. They also put a sheet over his forehead and tucked it under the mattress to remind him not to move his head. This increased his rest time. So instead of being discharged at 1:30 we didn't leave until almost 4. And, since we had left for the hospital at 6:15 this was a very long day!

As far as we know, we are able to leave tomorrow so I'm going to pack up tonight. We travelled as lightly as we could so it won't take long. And, if Stephanie calls to tell us that his biopsy shows some rejection that we need to come back and attend to, we will turn around. But, I don't anticipate that happening.

We've had dinner and we're waiting until it gets dark. We are both exhausted and it will feel good not to set the alarm in the morning. My internal alarm will get me up in time to give Bill his meds. We're going to go to Bob Evans for breakfast and then hit the road after rush hour. (Sorry you won't be with us, Mom). We'll go as far as Ozark Alabama tomorrow and the rest of the way on Friday. We are both ready to go home!

Day 2 down. Although it was long, it was easier than yesterday. All "talking" appointments. The most invasive thing was blood pressure and listening to the heart. We saw lots of friends on the nursing staff, housekeepers and other staff members. Stephanie told us she had been hearing "Haven sightings" all day!

Dr. Hosenpud was very pleased at how Bill was doing and told him to increase his exercise. He did admit that he was very concerned about his survival after the transplant, but of course he wouldn't have admitted that last year unless there was no hope at all.

The nurses introduced him to a patient waiting for transplant as the miracle man. The patient said she knew there was something special about him when she saw his smile!

The only glitch in the day was the news that he has developed some osteoporosis in his right hip. But, he's going to be started on Fosomax to help that. This is basically a side effect of one of his anti-rejection meds. It could also be because of age, so with those two factors it's understandable.

The heart cath is tomorrow and he will only have to lay flat for 2 hours instead of the 8 Memphis does. Since Bill is allergic to the cath dye I have to premedicate him with some Prednisone, Benadryl and Zantac. I have everything except for the Zantac so will need to go pick some up. Stephanie also said we could actually head home tomorrow if we wanted. But, since we have the room for tomorrow night and will have to be up extremely early tomorrow, we're going to wait until Thursday as originally planned. And, if for some reason we need to be here after we've headed for home, we'll turn around and head back.

The weather was gorgeous today, pleasant temps and sunny for the most part. A little wind kicked up this afternoon that had a little chill to it, but still a good day.

After we pick up the Zantac and something to eat, we'll be in for the night, unless we can see Abner and Faith. We're still playing that by ear. With me not feeling well yesterday and Faith not feeling well Sunday, we still haven't managed to get together.

Another update after the heart cath tomorrow.

Day 1 down, 2 to go. We're pretty tired, me from being awake most of the night sick and Bill being awake most of the night because of me being sick. I think it was just a case of too much food in the last couple of days. We're eating more than we usually do and it caught up with me.

We did get a nice surprise yesterday. We went to Barnes and Noble and ran into the surgeon who went to Miami and harvested the donor heart! Bill of course didn't remember her, but she remembered him and couldn't believe how good he looks.

The lab was backed up this morning by over an hour which made us late to the next appointment. But, they understood and got him right in. We came home and I slept for about and hour and then we tried to figure out his stool/urine collection instructions. Finally got that done and it was time to go back for his bone scan. That test was a piece of cake, only took 10 minutes instead of 20, so we visited with the girls in rehab and then ran by the nursing home to see the gang there.

We got gas on the way back and stopped at the store for some soup and are in for the night. I'm just waiting for it to get dark and for Bill to take the last of his meds. Hopefully I'll sleep better tonight.

Tomorrow is another full day, but these appointments are all in the same section and they are just "talking" appointments, nutrition, social worker, Stephanie and dr. We only saw John and Cindi for a couple of minutes while we were passing in the hall since I wasn't feeling well. And my friend Faith is ill. Maybe we can see her tomorrow.

All for tonight. Pray for restful sleep for both of us.

Yesterday was an easy day compared to today! Although it was a longer ride, the rain stopped. Today was a shorter day but it rained hard the entire trip. And, right where the beaches exit branches out from I-95 there was a 4 car pile-up. The info board also had it in the wrong lane so that area was a mess. We sat in traffic for more than 20 minutes.

We got to the hotel before our room was ready so we had a late lunch at our favorite restaurant and then hit the grocery store for a few supplies. We are now checked in and are going to watch the Kentucky Derby and not leave the room until we get hungry tomorrow afternoon. We've got soup for tonight and donuts for breakfast tomorrow. (Don't tell Mayo!)

Since tomorrow is a down day, I won't post anything else until Monday when the fun starts! Have a good week-end!

First day of travel down and I'm beat. We had heavy rain from the house until around Tupelo Mississippi. Wasn't too bad after that but we were both white-knuckled through Memphis at times. That traffic is always crazy and to throw in all of the trucks made it quite the morning. It started to rain again just as we were pulling into our hotel and now it's just a miserable night. We've been to eat and are tucked in for the night. It's supposed to rain tomorrow and Florida has had heavy rain all day today, so tomorrow looks like it will be another stressful day.

Other than the weather we had no problems. Bill is kicked back on the bed with his puzzle book and Wheel of Fortune on. I'm going to finish this and take a nice hot shower to work the kinks out of my back. It's probably going to be an early night so we can get an early start in the morning.

The suitcases are packed, the car is full of gas, oil has been changed...I think we're about ready to head back to Mayo for Bill's first yearly checkup! It doesn't seem like it's been a year already! We're only going as far as Ozark Alabama tomorrow, about a 7 hour drive. Then another 7 hours on Saturday. We'll have Sunday to catch our breath and maybe visit with some friends before all the appointments begin Monday.

I talked to Stephanie our coordinator today and after I told her that Bill was out walking, she checked with the drs. and they decided to cancel his treadmill test. She said as long as he is exercising they don't want to take the chance of injury since he can still be unsteady some. So, that frees up a lot of Monday. Now instead of appointments at 8, 8:10, 9, 9:05, 11 and 2 we are free from 9:05 until 2. Now we can have a good breakfast and/or lunch and maybe do some more visiting.

The weather is not supposed to be good tomorrow, lots of rain expected on the route. But, at least it's a familiar route so that will help. As long as we can get through Memphis, Birmingham and Montgomery without it raining too hard, the rest will be a piece of cake.

I'll update daily now until we get the results of the tests and the travel is over. That way family can see what's up. Of course if anything major happens, there will be phone calls and texts. Until tomorrow evening...good night!