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.