Excursion Take 2

The doctors just came in and said that right now his numbers look good, so we're going to try an excursion again today. We had the first excursion a few days ago, but only made it through 3 of the six hours. Danny's BP dropped scary low and he had to be rescued by a nurse and wheeled back to the room!

Since then the doctors have been trying to figure out the dosages of BP medicines he needs to be on to stay stable. The other obstacle is his INR skyrocketed to the point where the nurses put him on "room arrest". INR is the measure of blood thickness. So, if the INR is too high, his blood is too thin. He was required to stay in the bed because his INR was so high that any bumps or falls would have caused major bleeding. 

Today, doctors THINK his BP medicines are okay and the labs show that his INR is at a therapeutic (correct) level, so we're off!! 

Danny doesn't have much endurance at all because he's been in a hospital bed and had open heart surgery since 8/9/13, but pretending we can do everything there is to do in the atrium downstairs....here's the agenda:

• 2 cafeteria's
• PJ's for hot tea
• gift shop
• pharmacy (with pretty good shopping/browsing)
• barber shop (maybe another shampoo before going home to wash cloth baths)
• Blood donation (I may give blood today since Danny  he will need some for the upcoming heart transplant)
• many comfy chairs and couches for little naps...or long ones :-)

Hopefully Danny can make it the entire 6 hours. If so, he should be discharged Monday! We have learned that LVAD patients routinely end up back here at Ochsner for a day or so to get Heparin via IV...or some other medicine tweak. The LVAD requires the blood to be a certain consistency of thinness to run properly with no clots. 

Prayers for today: 

• Able to stay on excursion for 6 hours
• The 6 hours are pleasant (tired and naps are ok) and not too difficult
• This other LVAD recipient down the hall isn't doing well emotionally, so we would love for all readers to pray for him. He is older, has had heart troubles for many years prior to this, has Parkinson's, and is just miserable really. We are praying that the Lord would change his heart and spirit...just do miracles in his life that are undeniably the Lord!

God Bless you!!!

~T

Wash cloth baths...he commented today about the things we all take for granted, like showering...

 

Please pray against infection. I was worried about that little spot next to the stitches but the nurse said it was okay at this point. I clean this site very well each night and watch it like a hawk--the driveline goes straight to his heart and infection could kill!

There he is...back on the computer!!!! yaaaaaay!!!!!