Thank you

Thanks to so many who prayed and fasted for Kris.  Thanks to the doctors and their skilled hands, knowledgeable minds, caring hearts and kindnesses.  He was much sicker than realized.  He had open heart surgery on Friday September 24.  The doctors weren't sure how he would come out of the surgery. They said that if they were done before night-time it would be good. They were starting to close at 3:30 p.m.  They said he would be asleep for at least 3 days under anesthetic.  They were waking him up two hours after he got to ICU.  The surgery was Friday, and he was moved to the cardiac floor on Tuesday.  They are now talking about releasing him on Tuesday October 5 to his mom's care.  They want him to go to lunch out of the hospital on Monday the 4th so they know he can call them if there is an emergency.  Helen likes Little America, so that will be the plan.

Many thanks to all and to Heavenly Father for his kindness and love, long suffering and mercy on our souls.

Heart Pump Day- September 24, 2010

This hospital experience has shown that miracles happen everyday! Yesterday, they put dad on "rocket fuel." (Yeah, I dont know either.) The doctors were really impressed with how well he reacted to it. He had colors in his face he hasnt had in months. He was able to walk around the hospital with no oxygen for 6 minutes and wasnt winded. This morning we said our tearfilled farewells and the waiting began. The surgeon told us that he was planning on replacing his artificial valve with a pigs valve, (as heart transplants do not work well with the mechanical, yes, I said heart transplant. Apparently the rocket fuel has given the doctors hope that he could handle it!) installing the heart pump, AND going in and un-attaching his pericardium to his lungs. Yeah, they were suddently very optimistic. In the waiting room we were promised updates every 2 hours. The first one was good news and they were putting in his new valve. The second was that they were starting with the pump. Then this third update they said they were putting in chest tubes and will be starting to close within the hour. Suddenly his 12 hour surgery turned into just under 6. What wonderful blessings we as a family have been able to receive this day! He's made it through the worst and soon we'll be able to see him. All this means that he'll heal faster and recovery will be a less involved effort. My 3 brothers, mom and I were filled with such joy at the news! He lived!! He would meet and love his new grandson Weston, watch little (well not so little) Brayden and Whitney grow and become more adorable (if thats possible), and I truly will see him when I come home. We've been so blessed!!!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR THOUGHTS, PRAYERS, AND FAITH!!!!

I know that it is because of your love that my dad will see more years!

This will allow my dad to be healthier and have more energy,

and we'll have our dad/papa!!!

Love- Angela

Change is the only constant in life.

Kris' surgery has been moved to Friday September 24 @ 7:30 a.m.  The surgeon will be in to discuss the "creative" ways he can come up with to get

Please keep praying for him. Your prayers are felt.

We have a goal!

Kris was admitted today at 5:00 p.m.  We could have left around 12:00 today and still been here in plenty of time.  Hindsight is 20/20.  The surgery has been scheduled for Friday September 24 @ 7:30 a.m.  This is a really nice hospital.  Very caring.  Just slow, slow, slow.  Take one step and wait, and then one step and wait. There is light at the end of the tunnel. 

Thank you for your prayers.

Here we go!!

It has been a while since anything was posted. Sorry about that. Things have been a bit interesting around here. Kris didn't qualify for the Jarvic 2000 due to his previous open heart surgery and also the Jarvis is hooked to the descending aorta which is too far from the artificial valve and blood clots could form. He has two choices. Maintain status quo, which isn't working, or get the Heartmate II pump. He has decided on the HeartMate II. It is put on the ascending aorta, which solves the blood clot issue. They will still not open up his sternum, but put it under the ribcage to the left ventricle, and then cut on the upper right of his chest and carve a path to the aorta. Sounds like lots of fun, huh?lol. The surgeon said he has done it before Kris' surgery. The surgery will be at least 6 hours, so stress will be high for all involved.

Kris will be admitted on Tuesday September 21 for tests and the surgery will be September 23. Recovery will be at least three weeks up to 6 weeks in hospital. He will be in Utah for about two months. Many thanks to his mom for her willingness to care for him after he is discharged.

There will be a fast for him on Tuesday the 21st. Please join in if possible. Also, please pray for him. The prayers are felt.

We love you all.

Forward movement

It has been a while, as usual.

Kris got a call from Dr. Stehlik Thursday

night. They talked about options, which are few.

Kris agreed to have a pump put in call the Jarvic 2000.

This pump is in trials, and because of his lungs, he doesn't qualify

for the trial, but they will apply to the manufacturer to get the pump

outside of the trial. (bureaucracy of paperwork) It is very small, and is able

to be put in through the left ribcage instead of cracking his sternum and peeling

his heart from it. He will still have the mechanical aortic valve, which means continued Coumadin, but there are some better blood thinners on the horizon. Kris has an appointment on September 7, but Dr. Stehlik said they may see him sooner than that. So we wait again. They said this is how it would be, but we didn't understand very well. There is a support group that meets on Thursdays once a month, and we are going to try to start going to it. The Dr.'s don't want to push to have the transplant anytime in the near future. I would imagine that it is because they want to work on getting his lungs stronger. Dr. Cahill said he had tuberculosis decades ago. Kris and his mom don't remember him ever being that sick, but the doctors say that a person can be exposed and the body fights off the infection on it's own without any symptoms, but damage is done to the lungs. So, one more hurdle to jump and a problem to solve, but forward movement is good. Life is better, but Kris is still trying to deal. He will be just fine. (Frustrated, Irritated, Nervous and Exciteable?? lol) He has made it through tough things before this and will make it through this as well.



Please keep praying for him. The prayers are felt.

As the saga turns...

It has been a few weeks since the last post. Nothing has changed except the doctor's attitudes. They are not nearly so enthusiastic as they have been. It looks like they are waiting for Dr. Cahill to get back to them as much as we are. May God have mercy on our souls. Kris touches many lives. Please pray for him.

It has been a difficult week. When Kris was at the UofU on Tuesday last week it was discovered that his lungs were working at 33%. This increases the risk of surgery. The surgeon made us feel like the risks were too high. Kris is meeting with a pulmonologist (Dr. Barbara Cahill) on August 9 to find out why his lungs are so weak, and what can be done to resolve the problem. On Wednesday last week the "team" of doctors indicated that they think they have a way to do the surgery with his lungs as they are. That will be addressed (hopefully) on next Tuesday.

Kris had pericarditis when he was younger which caused his pericardium to stick to his heart. When his aortic valve was replaced in 1999 the pericardium had to be peeled from his heart. Unfortunately, without the pericardium his heart has adheared to his sternum. The surgery went from 4-6 hours to 10-12 hours because of this. Can you imagine standing/sitting for 10-12 hours working on someone's heart? Our lives are in God's hands. He is in control and will only do what is very best for us. We may not understand or like what it is at the time, but in looking back we can see his mercy and love.

Also, just to keep things interesting, his mechanical aortic valve won't work very well (increased risk of blood clots) with the L-VAD (heart pump), and so he will have to have it replaced with a pig valve.

Oh, and if you are interested, the colonoscopy went well. Re-check in 3-5 years. :-)

And so goes the saga. Please remember him in your prayers.

Colonoscopy

Tomorrow is the day for the colonoscopy. I hope he enjoyed the preparation!! lol.

His appointment at the UofU Medical Center has been changed from July 26 to July 27. We will leave after work on Monday and stay at his mom's house. The day's events start at 7:00 a.m. That means getting up at 5:30 a.m., which is pretty early. Hopefully, at the end of the day when in consult with the doctor, the day for the heart pump will be set. It could be fast. Fast seems to be a relative term. Some have been done the day after testing or up to a couple of weeks. No-one wants to give a time frame. So we wait. After the heart pump is put in he will be permanently disabled and he will move up the transplant list to a 1B. There are 39 other recipient's in front of him at the UofU. If you want to learn more Google unos.com. He could be on the list up to 36 months.

I feel gratitude for Angela's mission call, for prayers and love of friends. I can feel the caring and tender mercy of our Savior. He is in charge and I trust him.

Take care of yourself.

It all begins...

Now is the time to explain what is going on with Kris. He has congestive heart failure, atrial fib, ventricle fib, and diabetes. About two months ago the defibrillator (he has a pace maker/defibrillator) went off. Which means his ventricle went into fibrillation. If he hadn't had the defibrillator, he would have died. This got him to see Dr. Freedman (heart electricity) at the UofU Medical Center. He adjusted the pace maker and scheduled an appt at the clinic at the UofU for the end of May. Kris ended up spending 7 days in hospital. When he went for a checkup two weeks later, they said they wanted to do ablation on the heart. Ablation is where they put five catheters into his heart; two through the left groin, two through his right groin, and one through his neck. The catheters have cameras to map the heart and to cauterize specific spots to keep the electrical impulses going in the right direction and firing in a better rhythm. In order for this to happen his blood had to clot between 2.5 and 3.5. When he went in on July 6 his blood was at 6.2. Much too thin. They gave him a vitamin K shot and a few hours later it was at 5.9. They sent him home. He went back the next day and it was at 5.0. He got another shot of vitamin K and sent him home. The next day it was 2.7. Perfect!! They took him into a room to look at the heart to make sure there were no blood clots. (If there was a blood clot during ablation, it could break loose and cause a stroke.) The procedure was a TEE. (Trachea echogram) They put a tube down his trachea and used sound waves to look at his heart. They found a blood clot as large as the end of my little finger with a tail. It looked like a tadpole. Everything came to a screeching halt. We were sent into a clinic exam room, while Dr. Freedman, Dr. Salik (heart plumbing) and Dr. Akoum (ablation) had a conference. Dr. Salik came in afterward and told us Kris needed a heart pump as a bridge to heart transplant. You can look at one on the UofU Medical Center website in the cardiology section. Friday he went back and had education in heart pump, transplant, nutrition, and financing. He had 21 vials of blood drawn, EKG, check x-ray, TB test, and three pulmonary tests. He is scheduled to finish the tests and a psych eval on July 26. He will meet with the surgeon and find out when the pump will be installed. (That comes from growing up in a house of mechanics.) There is so much more that will happen, but this explains where he is today.

Kris has missed work since July 6, and doesn't know when they will let him come back. Something about liability. All his vacation time is used up, so things will get really interesting fast. He is a bit low through all this, which is to be expected. He is trying to adjust to how sick he really is, and has been.

He is scheduled for a colonoscopy and intense contact with the diabetes Dr. to keep it under control. He found out today that the tests ordered with the gastroenterolist are elective. That means paying full price.

Pray for him. But there is good news!! Angela received her mission call to Ohio Columbus mission and will enter the mission home in Provo on October 6, 2010.

Our whole family's lives have begun to change in many ways with many more changes to come.