Time

I was thinking about time and how the days have grown into months and still there has been no call.  Life has not been without its challenges during this season.

In February we welcomed another baby girl, Anna Jean, into the Kelly family.  John and Ashley have two beautiful girls!  There were some problems during labor and delivery, but mom and baby are just fine.

Dick developed what is know as a plural effusion, which is sack of water inside his chest, which gives him quite a bit of pain.  He has medicine which helps; just another hurdle.

In March, Dick celebrated his 70th birthday and mostly all the kids were able to come to SF and surprise him.  We have such a wonderful family; lots of support and lots of love.  It still amazes me how this large blended family is so united! There is such a wonderful sense of family love.









Dick has changed with the season change.  Winter was long and slow in coming but with the spring there has been a resurgence of his spirit.  In April Dick had cataract surgery on both of his eyes.  I'm thankful that he went ahead and took care of them because his vision was quite impaired and now he is finally able to see clearly.  John and Richard transformed our back patio, which was quite a project but both Dick and I love the yard and it was such a blessing!  It is wonderful to finally be outside again; to be able to see all our beautiful birds and plants again.  It speaks to me about the faithfulness of God and how He does restore.

Jackson, Richard's Boston Terrier, has done a brilliant job in ridding our backyard of rabbits,  Praise God.  All the little plants planted so far are actually growing without threat!
We have given him a new name....... KILLER



On May 26th  we lost our precious four year old Springer Spaniel, Scout.  She had developed lymphoma a few months ago and had been on chemo therapy.   Glaucoma, possible caused by a tumor behind her eye, put untreatable pressure on both eyes.  Finally the combination of all these horrible things attacking  our wonderful little Scout finally took its tole.   Last October our older dog died and now in May our puppy... it just doesnt' seem right...

Dolly and Scout

Much time has passed but we still need your prayers.  Life goes on and waiting gets soooo old.   You all have been so faithful and Dick and I so appreciate your continued love and support.  Oh, how we need it.

Better Late Than Never

It has been two weeks since Dick had his Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator replaced.  In the last blog, I made the mistake of calling it a battery, but as you can see, it is more than a battery!  The doctor was very pleased how things went.  He did not have to shock Dick which might have caused another stroke; he didn't feel it was worth the risk -  Praise God!
Dick had a few days where he really didn't feel well, however that was to be expected after surgery. If you think about it, cutting into a chest cavity, removing scar tissue, removing a devise lodged into his internal tissue and replacing the empty space with a new foreign object would take a healthy person time to recover, and when you think of all Dick has been through, I'm surprised he bounced back as quickly as he did.

Since we have returned from Minneapolis, our son and wife have had their second little girl - Anna Jeanne, our oldest grandson Andrew tragically lost his dad, and our wonderful three year old Springer Spaniel Scout, has had to start chemo therapy due to a cancerous tumor removed from her neck February 8th.  All in all, February was a mentally exhausting month and I'm glad it is over!

Tonight Dick and I went to a movie and out for dinner.  If felt so special!  It was a night like the ones we used to have, a delightful date night.  Funny how we take for granted little things like that; life can change so quickly.  We are so blessed to snatch an evening out every once in a while and it is a true blessing that we love our home and love being together.  Praise God for a wonderful husband and a great marriage ... gifts from God.

Pacer Recharged

Winter has seemed long and cold.  Waiting for "The Phone Call" is like waiting for water to boil, which makes winter seem longer than usual.  We drove to Minneapolis this morning for a routine heart/LVAD checkup scheduled today and for a surgical procedure tomorrow.  We had hoped Dick's pacemaker/defibrillator would not have to be replace, but because the phone has not yet rung, his pacemaker's  battery is running out and must be replaced.  Thursday morning @ 8:00 AM,  Dick will have same-day surgery to remove the old pacemaker and install a new one.  It shouldn't be a difficult procedure because all the devise's connectors were fished into the heart years ago during the original surgery.    Hopefully we will return Thursday evening and next week he will be back to work.
Your thought and prayers continue to support us in ways you can't imagine.  Thank you, we are truly blessed.

Still Waiting

People are asking me, what happens now.....  We Wait.  But while we wait, life is normalizing.  Slowly but surely piles are be sorted, lists are shrinking and tasks are being checked off.  You  can't imagine how long it takes to catch up after being gone off and on for almost three months, then down time due to illness.  Dick is back into his routine; the county commission is perfect for him.  He loves it and is so good at it; in fact, he is vice-chair this year.  But when 5:00 rolls around, he is done, both of us are grateful to have early evening.
One of these days, we will get a phone call from Fairview telling us that they have a heart.  When that happens, we will get on a plane and fly to Minneapolis.  Once we are they, doctors will prep Dick for surgery and a final decision will be made as to the match, and if everything lines us, Dick will get a new heart.

Dick tending his roses the summer of 2003

I really think both Dick and I needed this extra time to heal.  It is really nice to get up in the morning, kiss Dick goodbye and welcome him back home at the end of his day.  He is able to take cat-naps and go to bed early at night.  It will be wonderful for him to have his new heart and be able to add a few more things to his minimal schedule.  He loves to help me in the garden....  it will be wonderful to see him tend his roses, bar-b-queing a family dinner, taking Scout for a walk to the park or doing any of these "normal" life opportunities.   You don't know how precious little things are until you can't do them....

No Call

It is early in the AM on the third of January and to tell you the truth, I have been kind of down in the dumps; we wait and wait for the phone to ring but there is no call.   Dick has his first place position only until January 5th, then will drop down to the normal waiting list where he will wait his turn, which could mean months or possibly years.
His pace maker is wearing out and he has till March to get that changed.  Changing the unit will involve surgery, so if a heart could become available he will need neither the pacemaker nor the surgery, which would be a really good thing!
This is almost surreal;  a heart should come sometime. but. not knowing makes me feel as if it is not going to happen.  I know Dick thinks about it a lot too but there is absolutely nothing we can do about it except Trust God.
Looking back over 2010, it is obvious to both Dick and I the enormous amount of grace we has received this year,     Dick's heart failure, stroke, shingles and my back surgery and health issues .....  it is amazing that we have survived it all!  I look forward to the day when we can have all this behind us; please pray with me that this will be soon.

Love to each of you in this new year, Mary

Waiting

Have you every stood by the stove and waited for the tea pot to whistle?  Well, this is worse!  Dick and I both are patiently waiting for "THE CALL" but so far no call. 
This morning at church they prayed for Dick's healing......   rather than praying for healing, pray for the right heart to be made available to Dick.  The clock is still ticking; we are so hoping that during this thirty day period, the perfect matched heart will be made available.
Thank you all for your continued prayer and support.
Love to each of you this Christmas season,
Mary

The Clock is Ticking Again

Dick is back on the #oneA list!  After  Dr. Zigler's report Friday morning to the transplant team, Dick was put back on the list.  Much of what was thought to be shingles, (by amateur doctors = family, was a reaction to the tape, dry weather and medications.  So, we are once again on call.
This time we are better prepared for what is coming.  The kids and I will have to be traveling back and forth due to work schedules unlike last time; taking turns.
I pray you all will have a wonderful Christmas season with your family and your friends.  Hopefully soon, Dick and I will be able to have you all to our home to celebrate the conclusion of a very long journey.

The Saga Continues

Today the "powers at be" put Dick on hold because of his shingles.  I guess the transplant team want to be sure that his shingles do not interfere with the implantation process.  This holding patterns is exactly that.  His precious 1st place spot will not be wasted during this time of evaluation.  Once it is decided the shingles will not be problematic at the time of implant, he will be reinstated.
So.....  please pray for all this.  Dick's emotions are really taking a tole and could possibly be the cause of his shingles; in fact we both are quite numb.  I guess only God knows our future.

Pray Pray Pray

I just received a call from the hospital, Dick is being put on the  "#one A"  list!!!!!  We are to have our phones on us at all time, so the clock is ticking.  He has thirty day where he will be the first one to get a heart if one comes in that matches his blood type, basic size, etc.  This will be the only opportunity for this thirty day window so please pray that the right heart will come in.   Also pray for the dear person and the family of the person giving Dick their heart - it will be a difficult time for them.
This is wonderful news for us; could this really be happening?
Lots of love,
Mary

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.

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.

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!