Thursday, November 25, 2010

Thanksgiving

There has been quite a bit of excitement around the Kelly household these past few days.  There is a internal cable which attaches directly to Dicks pump in his body; this same cable then comes out of his body through a port and attaches to a computer/control panel that is on his body at all times.   Well, we had noticed the connection between the cable and the metal housing  on this cable was pulling apart. We have been trying to keep it together  with tape until someone from the company could come to Sioux Falls and repair it.  Tuesday evening Dick was changing from batteries to AC when his alarms went off.  We were able to get the alarm silenced and immediately reported it. By noon Wednesday a representative from Thoratec had flown in from Chicago and had fixed it.
Wednesday evening, I had already taken my back brace off and had laid down for the night when I heard Dick's alarm go off again.  This time it was a solid alarm which indicates a life threatening pump problem.  Dick was yelling and I was trying to get out of bed as fast as I could to get to Dick.  The solid alarm still was ringing; immediately I called the LVAD coordinator who identified the problem and helped me exchange his computer to a backup computer.  The disconnection of his control computer instantly took his flow from 90% to 10%.  If he had not been laying down, he would have pass out.  Once changed everything was quiet and was back to normal.  Even though we both were a little rattled, all that training from this summer proved itself absolutely necessary.  Thanksgiving morning, another control computer arrived by curior; it is vital to always have back ups, just incase something like this happens.

Yesterday was Thanksgiving and aside from the scare, the good new that we all are very thankful, is Dick's name on the heart transplant list!  The hard surgery is over, the most difficult transition has been completed.  From here on out it is downhill.  The transplant itself is a much easier surgery than this LVAD implant. So we are counting our blessings for the worst is over.

This Thanksgiving I am thanking God for each of you.  You have carried us in your heart and carried us in your prayers.  God has answered your prayers and Dick is living proof of the faithfulness of God to answer prayer.  How can we ever thank you?
We love and cherish each of you.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Good News

He lived through the test on Thursday and the test on Friday, and actually slept much better both nights - thank you for praying!  Three little polyps were removed from his colon on Thursday that needed to be biopsied, however the doctor was confident they were normal. Dick's heart/lung pressures and  blood flow counts were great and Dr Masri, his cardiologist, was very pleased with the final test results. Next week she will get the report concerning the polyps and based on the report will be able to proceed to the final step.  On November 23rd Dick's name will be presented to go on the heart transplant list.  Even now, as I'm writing these words, tears are flowing....  I can't define the emotion -  it goes beyond words!

When Dr. Masri, Shawn (Dick's LVAD coordinator), Richard, Dick and I were sitting in that final meeting, knowing he was so close, I wanted to jump up and celebrate.  He has finished all the tests required for the transplant evaluation and is now ready.

This morning as we were going to church, I said, "A heart transplant seems like such a big thing to most people, but to us it seems just like the next step,"  Dick agreed.  We were told the difficult surgery was the LVAD implantation and the actual heart transplant surgery will be much easier.  All I know is that with God all things are possible.  Maybe just maybe our lives can calm down and Dick can resume life in good health.  I can't imagine it....  Good health, wow, what an amazing gift; you don't know how wonderful good health is until you don't have it.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

So Far So Good

Dick is ready for his test today, however his anxieties are off the chart. There is one procedure today and another procedure tomorrow and hopefully after these tests, he will calm down.  Both Dick and I have confessed of having emotional anxieties that, more than likely, we aren’t aware of having.  There is no other explanation of why we are experiencing some of the things we are experiencing.  This emotional roller coaster has been going on since he was first diagnosed with heart disease but lately it seems to have been gaining momentum.

When life leads us to a place where there is absolutely no human control possible, we are forced to trust God and forced to let Him orchestrate the events moment by moment.  Dick has been physically out of his human control since the end of June and I can tell you as an eyewitness, it is difficult for any human being to be there.  I think we pride ourselves in planning and preparing for life, and take almost a negative attitude toward helplessness and weakness, but it is in our helpless state where we actually see the hand of God move on our behalf.  Isn’t it a shame we are so determined to be strong and in charge?

So, as for today, we go on to this next step, thanking God, trusting God and putting our faith in God to work our future out for the good.  Let Go and Let God!

Saturday, November 6, 2010

What is too much?

It has been a while since I have written, mainly because life has neither been easy nor necessarily hard, but has been too full, I would say, " Super overload."  There were so many things I should have been tending to in August that had to be left till October;  an enormous amount of daily responsibilities plus a two month back log that has to be squeezed in as well.
Most of you know that Dick has recovered beautifully from his stoke and only has some paralyses in his right hand, but may not have been aware that he also now has shingles.  HOWEVER, there is clear evidence that God's grace is resting upon him because he has very little pain and hardly any itching.  God knew how much we could handle and did not give us more than we could bare...
I am healing slowly from my back surgery and will be actually driving Dick to Minneapolis this coming Tuesday for some of his final medical tests.  Once he has successfully passed, he will be put on the transplant list.  He is walking almost 25 minutes on the treadmill and is regaining his strength.
I will send out another update this week.