This morning when I arrived I was told that Dick is going to be released tomorrow, not into rehab but to the apartment! He will go back and forth to rehab but as an outpatient. The average LVAD patient has a hospital stay between fourteen to twenty-one days. Dick will be released on the tenth day after his surgery. The healing that he is experiencing can only be credited to a loving God who is hearing and answering all your prayers. THANK YOU!
Practically the entire day was spent with Shawn in training. We went over the alarm systems and what to do when this happens and what to do when that happens. We had a brief recess at noon to go to the Heart Transplant/LVAD support group. What a tremendous group! Dick had many of his questions answered and could clearly see that all the transplant people were living active full lives again. Robert went with us and asked many pertinent questions as well. After the group session Dick was very tired and wanted to take a nap so Rob and I went home to get a sandwich.
Shawn was waiting for me when I returned to test me on changing Dick's chest bandage. I PASSED! Yeh! Because we are going home tomorrow, we had to also take a written test. He reviewed once again the material then left us to take the test. I know for certain that test taking is not for me. Dick and Robert both laughed at some of my answers. Instead of just true or false, I had to write a brief reason for the T or F. I guess it is the artist in me; I see too many possibilities.
Finally around 8:00 Rob and I left, taking some of Dick's personal things and the gorgeous flowers that had arrived this past week. An interesting side note: There were 2 heart transplants just this week. And Dick's Surgeon, Dr Shumway, is the daughter of the renown surgeon who was the first heart transplant surgeon in America. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Shumway
How exciting to have him in the apartment and healing enough to let him go. God has blessed you both and all of us too. How long will Robert stay? Is he off work? I guess you will be cooking more and running to the hospital less. Isn't it always amazing how God just makes everything work the way it is supposed to.
ReplyDeleteWhat great news!!! I'm sure you must all be experiencing a range of emotions--excitement, thankfulness, anxiousness and hopefulness. Change always brings some grieving, which may seem strange. But, as you are experiencing, even though leaving the hospital is a positive thing, it does mean adjusting to a new set of tasks and routines that may be a bit scary. It sounds as if you are being thoroughly prepared for these and God will be right there, guiding all of you as you make this transition. You will definitely be receiving a multitude of prayers!! Love to all of you!
ReplyDeleteMike