In the hospital

Hello everyone,

Yesterday afternoon, Greg was admitted to the hospital by his heart-transplant doctors.  Over the past two weeks Greg had been gaining water-weight very quickly, despite his doctors doubling his doses of diuretics.  Along with the water-weight has come increased symptoms (fatigue, bloating, loss of appetite, soreness throughout his body, etc.) and he's felt worse and worse as the week has progressed.  We went to the heart transplant clinic for an "emergency appointment" on Monday, after he gained 3 lbs over Saturday night.  At that time, the doctors said they couldn't do anything yet and to wait and see if he continued to put on more water weight as the week progressed.  He did, and by yesterday morning they deemed it necessary for him to be admitted to the hospital. 

He was seen by Dr. Desai (the head of the transplant program) who decided to give him a dose of IV diuretics last night and one this morning to see if the stronger dose would help.  If by this morning Greg lost all the excess fluid and all his symptoms disappeared, it would be a sign that he wasn't responding to the diuretics at home and they would give him an additional "booster" drug to help keep the water off, and send him home.  If the IV diuretics didn't work- they would do another right heart catheterization today to see what's actually going on in his heart.

We haven't seen the doctors yet this morning, but so far Greg has gained another ounce of weight, instead of losing the amount necessary.  We're still waiting to see if the second IV diuretic has been effective, but it seems unlikely at this point.  Most likely, Greg will be getting a right heart catheterization and remaining in the hospital for another night as they try to determine what's causing the increased water-retention.

The doctors tell us that this is a normal part of waiting for a heart- any time there's a drastic change in how a patient is doing, they are admitted to the hospital so that the doctors can do everything possible to keep them as comfortable and strong as they can be while waiting for their new heart.  We'll probably be back here again many times before Greg receives his heart- and its a blessing that we live so close to the hospital!

While in some ways it feels like a relief for me to be here (it takes the pressure off of me trying to determine when to call the doctor, and watching him to make sure his symptoms aren't changing, etc.), Greg is very anxious to go home. 

Please pray for wisdom and insight for the doctors as they try to figure out what's happening in Greg's body, and for peace and patience for us as we "hit" this new bump in the road.  Our prayer is that Greg will just need a different medication and that his heart failure isn't getting worse.  Yet, we know that God is in control of every detail in Greg's body and in the process of waiting for and getting a heart, and that above all we need to pray for His will to be done (even when that's hard to do).

We'll keep you updated as we get more information.

Thank you for walking this road with us,
Elise