September 11, 2024
Chris successfully had his heart and kidney transplant; the heart surgery was completed by 6am Sunday and the kidney was completed by 7pm Sunday. After his heart transplant I was able to spend a few hours with him before the kidney transplant. He was too strong for the sedation, so he was coherent enough to put his left hand in the air and motion for me to come to the bed, then he pointed at the tube in his throat pretty much telling me to pull it out. I let him know I couldn't pull the intubation tube out because he needed it for the kidney transplant. The nurse at the time reiterated the same and Chris' response was one for the books, he rolled his eyes and threw his hands down on each side of him as to say "C'mon!" the nurse and I chuckled because I've seen that eye roll before. Chris was taken back to the OR around 3pm Sunday for his kidney transplant. I went back to my housing room and waited for an update. The nurse caring for Chris phoned me about 10pm Sunday night and said that Chris was doing great and by 12am he will be reducing his sedation medication to allow Chris to wake up on his own, he will call me to confirm at 12am, if I wanted to come to the hospital to see him. I made my way to the hospital at 12am Monday and he was still intubated, but fighting through the sedation to wake up. Chris had been "sleeping" under sedation since 12:35 am Sunday, he was wheeled to the OR for heart transplant at 10:30 pm Saturday night. I walked into his room, masked up and held his hand and let him know I was there with him; he gave me a squeeze and attempted to open his eyes but still needed time. Looking at him hooked up to all the machines will never get easier, but John the nurse assured me he was doing great and gave me a rundown of what all the lines, tubes and iv's were doing. By 4 am Monday, Chris was fully awake enough to get the breathing tube removed; he had this done with the same respiratory therapist from the impella procedure; I laugh saying this but she was a feisty Latina and would rile him up in a sarcastic way. This time wasn't any different and Chris did not disappoint once she completed the extubation. "Wasssup!" was Chris' first word after being intubated since Saturday evening; I'm cracking up writing this now, everyone in the room started laughing. His voice was raspy from the tube, but he continued to give the respiratory therapist some words; something along the lines of "now he can talk sh*t" back to her lol. Then he proceeded to tell her he will write a rap song and he literally busted out some words while beatboxing. I looked around laughing like "who is this man?" It was a sight, he sounded like the actor Jim Carrey from his move The Mask. Chris soon reeled his exuberance back in after he asked "is my heart and kidney in me now?" I let him know yes, your transplant surgeries are completed you have your new heart and kidney. He gave glory God and thanked the Lord; soon after he was given oxygen/medication to open his lung vessels through a high flo tube placed in his nose. Monday consisted of a lot of care and business around Chris will round the clock blood tests, caring for wound tubes draining from his heart incision, back on dialysis until his new kidney wakes up and etc. I stayed by his side for the next two nights, as I know the pain of his surgery would soon hit as soon as the anesthesia wears off; by early Tuesday morning he was feeling it, with every cough, he was given a pillow in the shape of a heart to hold against his chest to lessen the movement when he coughed, but it also doubled as a memorial that came with a sharpie pen for all his doctors and nurses to sign, which Chris really liked and had the docs/nurses sign as they made their way to check on him. Both of Chris' heart and kidney transplant surgeons were females. We continued to give glory to God first for putting special people on this earth who have a passion in the medical field. I explained to Chris before heart transplant surgery that the Lord was restoring his faith back to Him. The last two days Chris' pain has been high and managed by round the clock pain medication, Dr. R described his surgery as his body being bulldozed. Rest has been the best medicine, especially having to do PT right away to get Chris sitting up at the edge of the bed. He stood up on Monday afternoon, the same on Tuesday both times this kicked his butt and he needed immediate rest, but Tuesday afternoon he said his pain was lessening, the doctors made a comment that Chris was making them look good because he was doing amazing post surgery, Chris told me babe I'm not making them look good, the Lord is making them look good. I said you're right babe. Tuesday night, Chris was downgraded to only one iv medication, the hi flow tube was replaced by your regular thin oxygen tube, he went from no liquids to ice chips to a clear liquid diet and enjoyed some broth, jello and a sprite; he was even making a small amount of urine which was great news to the doctors. He is still on dialysis which is normal, this will allow his new kidney to wake up to fully function.
The special part of the day Tuesday late afternoon, a nurse asked Chris have you listened to your new heart yet? Him and I just had a conversation about that where it would be nice to hear it. She gave him a stethoscope and he listened; Chris' response "it sounds normal.." as to say his new heart was beautiful sounding, I said it sounds continuous ? He said yes and I welled up with tears because we tend to take the small things for granted. Chris' original heart had palpitations, slow beats, missed beats and for him to hear a healthy strong heartbeat was new for him. Please note Chris and I realize and felt it was hard to pray for a donor because that meant someone lost their life; this was the most bittersweet prayer to pray. I felt moved to pray for the family that lost their loved one because they were on the other side going through grief and pain, while we were happy and relieved of our pain. Chris understands this fully; we do not know any specifics of the donor including Mayo, other than it was the perfect match. Hopefully someday we will get to know more, this is all handled through the donor network. The goal now is for Chris to continue to make progress with PT and moving around; for the kidney to wake up and he can be taken off dialysis and to be moved to a regular room and out of ICU. A few days leading up to the transplant Chris stated, I sure wish I can get the transplant before my birthday. The Lord answered his prayer.
September 7, 2024
Within the last hour the doctors have let us know they found a heart/kidney match. There is a process before operation, Chris was advised tentative operation tonight. Praise God.
September 4, 2024
I got a call in the last hour from Chris, "babe, can you talk?" I said "Yes, is everything okay?" Chris replied, "Yes, I got doctor "R" in the room and she has something to say" I got excited thinking what this update could be. Chris put me on speaker and Dr. R began her update, antibodies are negative, she is actively fielding hearts and kidneys, both me and Chris respectively became elated. She continued to say there is no trace of the heparin allergy in Chris' system so no more Apheresis, but we will continue to monitor his labs. The SRA is negative as well, we were just told last night it would take a few days to get the serotonin release assay results back and here they are clean and clear; the doctor continued to say Chris would take a break from dialysis, he was advised to get out of bed, take a field trip and view the scenery from a new window on the floor. Early on in this journey the Lord made it clear to me that the road would be rough, which it has but the Lord also said his transplant will be quick and we are standing on that promise. "Okay babe, I love you and will talk to you later!" Chris ended the call I told him I loved him, I will see him in a few hours and to let me know what he wants for dinner. God is good. Last night we talked to another doctor that explained what those hours leading up to transplant would look like and it is a methodical process. The organs go through a series of test to pass and a final check for a green light. As you know our hearts are protected by our breastbone, during surgery Chris' breastbone will be split in half for this procedure. The Lord has continued to prompt me to pray early in the morning, during the day and at night. Most days I'm just thanking God for what he has already done, this is normally not an easy quick process, but I keep reiterating this journey was a divine appointment from the Lord for Chris and I.
September 4, 2024
Chris had a quiet Tuesday, we spoke briefly in the morning our usual 7am call, with his numbers looking beautiful I returned back to work just 5 minutes away, I work from home so I was able to bring my work equipment to the Mayo housing. This has helped during the times I know Chris is stable and I needed some normalcy. Chris had his Apheresis, he also had PT and they were able to get him up and walking around the ICU floor. By the end of my work day I called him to ask what he wanted for dinner. Right away he said "BBQ!" This may be a small thing but Chris looks forward to what his Uber eats driver aka "my wife" is going to surprise him with; one night I brought him Indian food and he gave me that look hahaha. I told him okay babe let me do my research and I'll find you some BBQ. After some googling I remembered there was a Rudy's down the freeway a little so he requested some brisket and a sausage link. I even surprised him with a Big Red to drink; watching him shimmy in his chair and tap his feet while eating was the best and cutest sight to see. Soon after he was looking at his bed from the chair and checking to see the nurse would get him back to bed, the "itis" had crept in from his meal. We both were communicating through yawns at one point. By 830pm I said its time for me to go to bed, I let him know he's the strongest man I've even known going through what he's been through. To keep it light I followed up by roasting him about the size of his head and we both laughed, he said "are you laughing at my peanut head?" I replied with "your head shrunk!" We kissed each other a good night and advised of our 7am phone call in the morning.
September 2, 2024
Yesterday, Chris had a busy day, continuance of Apheresis to clear the antibodies from his blood that was built up from the Heparin allergy. He was told there were offerings of organ donation this past week, but Dr. R had to pass because Chris' antibody level was still high, hearing this information was bittersweet for us. Chris' blood type is AB positive which is a saving grace in this situation, this blood type is known as the "universal recipient", because AB positive recipients can receive red blood cells from all blood types. We continued to lean on the Lord's timing and stay patient. Chris was scheduled for physical therapy on his right shoulder, because of the Impella procedure his shoulder was very sore, tender and his range of motion was limited. We also had family from Central California come to visit this past weekend, Chris' two Aunts and Uncle, siblings of his mom. Their visit was very much appreciated and Chris enjoyed the time. I was able to return to my housing quarters on the Mayo campus to shower, wash some clothes and rest. Chris and I were also visited by his youngest son, daughter in law and grandson; Pop-Pop got to see his Bam Bam, both of their eyes lighted up with big smiles on their faces as soon as they seen each other. Chris was concerned about Bam Bam seeing him in the hospital with the lines in his neck and laying in bed, but of course our little Ingram grandson wasn't phased just curious as he gave his Pop-Pop kisses. By mid afternoon Saturday, Chris' busy day constituted for some much needed rest and he was able to stay asleep for most of the night.
By this morning dialysis treatment had pulled more water from Chris' body, when Chris was first admitted to the hospital his weight was close to 300 pounds, as of today he is at 200 pounds. Literally 100 pounds of water weight has been removed from his body through dialysis. Chris' new body weight has been a point of discussion because of the amount of weight he has carried over the years and now to see his slim body laying in the bed is mind blowing. This loss of water weight has allowed his heart to remain happy while hospitalized; according to Doctor R in her words, we need him "rung out" and dry for transplant operation. This Sunday afternoon he had physical therapy and stood up for the first time in a few days, we both took a nap after and was awakened by some loud thunder, lightning and the smell of rain. We received exciting news that Chris' antibody "HIT" results show that he is negative for antibodies, which reduces the risk of thrombosis, the numbers are finally in normal range. This is an answer to prayer because it was unknown when Chris would get a negative reading. As of this evening Doctor R visited Chris again stating they are waiting for one more test to show negative for antibodies and we can start accepting offers for transplant. There has been a sense of excitement today from the nurses, who have taken care of Chris and know his story; we have had nurses, who took care of him at the beginning of August and have come looking for him to see how he's doing. This evening I was touched by a recent male nurse who came in to see how Chris was doing, seeing that the most recent Swan-Ganz line was removed today, seeing all of Chris' numbers looking beautiful, hearing that his antibody results were negative and seeing the smile on Chris' face he couldn't help but say "Praise the Lord!" We thanked him for the visit; I looked over at Chris and said "I just knew that he loves the Lord, by the way he cared for you babe and his servants heart." Tears started welling up in my eyes because this was the second nurse that blessed us with the same type of care and I know the Lord was reassuring us he was pairing Chris with the right people to look after him. Chris' appetite picked up a little, I brought him some chicken soup from the cafeteria, he ate and then he had his bandages changed. I let him know I would return back to my room at the Mayo housing since he's shown so much improvement and feeling hopeful that transplant could be coming very soon. He could tell I was ready for bed, told me to go get some rest, we said our I love yous and kiss goodnight, see you in the morning.
August 30, 2024
8/30/2024
The Impella heart pump surgery procedure was a success, Chris had no issues during surgery, minimal bleeding. Prior to surgery we were advised he would need to be on a breathing tube during and after the procedure as a precaution that his heart may not take to the new heart pump and may not breath on his own. Chris was heavily sedated after surgery, I waited in the ICU waiting area for the team to bring him back to his room, reconnect him to the machines and medications. With the Impella heart pump implanted he was able to be taken off of some medications and others reduced. Chris' right heart ventricle was trying to keep up pumping blood to his body with such a low ejection fraction rate, because his left ventricle was being overworked due to the amount of fluid buildup around it caused by his weak heart and kidney failure. With the ongoing CRRT dialysis major fluid was being pulled even up to the procedure time, Chris' heart was immediately showing signs of happiness after implant and this produced better numbers which was exciting for us and the team. The next goal was to get Chris off the sedation medication and awake for extubation, after some scribbling on a notebook for the tube to be taken out and expressing uncomfortability, by 8pm last night Chris was extubated after passing two respiratory breathing tests to breathe on his own. Thank you Lord for another successful procedure.
As of this morning, Chris was limited to only ice chips and oral sponge swabs for liquids to prevent aspiration as the intubation was replaced by a hi flow respirator inserted in his nose. Waking up in the hospital chair/bed the first conversation Chris had with me was that "the energy bill was due," I replied with a laugh because normally I'm the one announcing which bills are due. Immediately I went to the energy company website to confirm with him "we already paid it for the month babe," he replied with an "oh, my phone just reminded me." During his morning bird bath and bedding change, I took a walk around the hospital to grab some coffee and stretch my legs (pun intended). Then we waited for the morning doctor rounds to see what happens next, we heard our favorite cardiac doctor was back in rotation and couldn't wait to see and speak with her.
Rotation came and the whole heart failure team filled Chris' room, our favorite doctor came in and the door was shut behind her, she is about as tall as I am but commands the room. Doctor "R" confirmed that the Impella surgery procedure was a success, but reiterates the one issue that we thought was tiny but has been throwing a wrench in the transplant timetable is the heparin allergy. Chris was advised about a month ago he is allergic to heparin. Heparin is a blood thinner that prevents blood clots and heparin is used by many transplant units to prevent thrombosis. For transplant patients and their team this causes a delay and extra work up when there is an allergy, the allergy is causing Chris' antibodies to increase and attack the heparin allergy in his blood. For a transplant patient we cannot have a high antibody count built up because it will attack a foreign tissue such as a organ donation and this could cause rejection. Doctor "R" advised Chris and I today because his antibodies are too high we cannot make any moves for transplant and Apheresis is going to be scheduled everyday to clean his blood from the high antibody count, the timeframe of when his blood will be clear of the antibodies is different for everyone Chris' body is at a slower pace. Doctor stated even if a heart and kidney would be available today she would have to deny it because this would be too much for Chris' body, which is not yet optimized for transplant. We are learning the transplant process is a dance, sometimes the dance is fast and sometimes the dance is slow. Chris and I pray each morning and throughout the day, thanking the Lord for waking us up to see another day, we pray for our children and we pray for his transplant process. We realize our timing in how soon we want this transplant to happen could lead us to settle and we have to be patient for the Lord's timing because it's alway right on time and perfect. Chris and I understood what Doctor "R" had to say by the time the team left the room, he was advised he would be on a clear food diet to prevent any aspiration with him still receiving minimal oxygen and medication in the line to open up his blood vessels more, which is vented through his nose. As I left the hospital to go freshen up, we discussed continuing to stay positive and patient, Chris already had a jello cup in hand finishing it up.
August 29, 2024
As of 8/29/2024, Chris has been in a hospital for one month and a little over two weeks. He has been admitted at the Mayo Clinic for one month today. He has bravely endured some setbacks to his health while hospitalized but the Lord has restored him each time. Chris has received catheterization procedures known as a Swan-Ganz, as of today he has had a total of three put in since hospitalization; he's also has had a handful of arterial lines put in the neck and wrist area, these lines are routinely inserted and routinely removed; he has had a Balloon Pump inserted into his right artery in the groin to help his weak heart and it has been removed since last week due to possible infection. Anytime Chris has possible infection he is removed from the UNOS scale list for transplant, any time he is downgraded and stable he can be lowered on the the UNOS scale, anytime he has additional procedures such as CRRT dialysis or a heart pump, which is done to help his heart he can be bumped up on the list. Chris has endured a sepsis infection with the first Swan-Ganz he received in Las Vegas and by the grace of God was restored from this infection. At this very hour, he is having an Impella Heart Pump inserted into his chest area to help his heart rest by assisting with ejecting blood from his heart to the rest of his body, this will bump him up to two on the UNOS scale. Please join us in praying for a perfect heart and kidney donation or a complete healing. Chris has been receiving the best of care here at Mayo Clinic.
