Unbelievable

This is truly unbelievable...except that Danny designs software, so it's not really!! This morning when Danny switched from AC power to battery power, the controller faulted again. It gave the same message as yesterday:" change controller and call hospital contact". So, just like yesterday, we removed his driveline from its faulty computer and switched to another one. 

The irony here is that as a software developer, Danny is always developing and debugging and therefore is quite familiar with pushing out new software. Before software is available to the public, it goes through a QA (quality assurance) period where it is thoroughly tested for bugs. Even after the software is made available for public use, it is still constantly being updated and cleaned of any new errors that may be found (this is why you have routine updates to software you use). Danny's LVAD equipment is no different. The hardware (heart pump) is working just fine. It's the software running the computer (which controls the heart pump) that's erring. The new controller has only been in production for a few months so Danny is not happy about why these very obvious and serious errors are happening (2 days in a row) if it went through the appropriate QA process. At any rate, as I see it and have seen it for many years, that's how computer stuff goes...it works great until it doesn't! It just so happens that THIS computer stuff is keeping him alive, not just a program he's written to make some company's work flow process smoother. 

We think they are going to keep him another day just to be sure the controller isn't going to fail a third day in a row. That would be really crazy!!

In terms of bloodwork and "numbers" as the doctors around her like to say...they are still tweaking his BP meds and Coumadin a bit, but apparently that's an ongoing process for LVAD patients. We are learning that Danny might be back here fairly routinely for a day or two to receive Heparin IVs (make his blood thinner) or change up the BP meds. The LVAD patients are like family members on this floor...which is nice, or maybe not because who wants to be in and out of the hospital so much that you're a part of the staff family?!?!

In the end, he's alive, feeling pretty good, and happy...and that's good news!

Charlie called last night and said the sweetest thing ever: "Mommy, I know this may seem selfish, but do you think you could drive home to tuck me in bed?" I'm crying again just typing the words. I told him we would be home very soon and he understands, but wow!!! That was hard. 

It's a good thing that God loves those kids more than we do as impossible as that is to comprehend...and God's arms can ultimately do more for Charlie than mine. However, no matter how old you get, sometimes you just need your mama!!!