Hello, all!
Lealonnie and her husband are traveling to AZ today, to begin their journey at Mayo.
Her husband will be receiving a liver transplant.
She has given me permission to begin a thread here.
Please pray for their safe travel, and for all to go well.
She’ll pop in as she’s able, and give us updates.
Admins, would you please move this to discussions? I can’t seem to figure out how to do that.
Caring Bridge Journal Entry
1:00 pm
Chuck had 3 appointments today; labs, an RN visit & a doctor visit with Dr Mayo. His numbers are looking great to the point where his Friday RN & doctor appointments have been canceled! He has a lab visit only on that day to make sure his bloodwork is still on track, and that's it. Dr Mayo told us to enjoy the rest of that day OFF, which we're totally on board with.
If the EMG nerve test doesn't show anything horrible going on, Chuck can get physical therapy back home for his drop-foot issue which seems to be improving with the use of the boot and walking. His last scheduled appointment here in Arizona is on June 3, and barring nothing going wrong in the interim, we will be discharged from the Mayo Clinic and given over to Kaiser care back in Denver meaning we can GO HOME! We would be very happy to do so, although the prospect of leaving the cocoon of safety & efficiency here at the Mayo is a bit scary. We'll take things one day at a time in the meanwhile, however, and enjoy our remaining time here. It's comfortable and we're in good hands here, which is all that truly counts.
The weight loss has stopped for now and Chuck is back on the upswing!
I posted a photo of him at our kitchen counter eating and looking pretty darn good! He's also back to using his outside voice which is very loud and booming and surprised our support group when he hollered for Honey! 🤣
Update:
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4:30 pm
Things have taken a turn for the worse today; Chuck is having some swelling above the staple line on his incision and a few other issues like pain in his kidney/lower back area that is sending us back to the ER right now, per Dr. Aqel, the director of the transplant department here at Mayo. This is the last place he was expecting to go today..........😟
I will keep you updated as we find out what's going on. Please send prayers that this is just a minor hiccup in his recovery.
Delia had been warned ahead of time that she was looking at a year of recovery, and of ups and downs, and that's about what it took, but she did it, and that in her mid 70s. So much admiration for the woman.
Sorry for another bump in the road. Relieved it happened before discharge and long trip home. Thinking of you and waiting your updates, and thanking you so much for keeping us informed!)
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9:00 am
DH was admitted to the hospital this morning at 1:00 am. A CT scan with contrast revealed bilateral pulmonary emboli (2 small blood clots in his lungs) and he's also constipated. I knew something was wrong, just not WHAT was wrong, exactly. An ultrasound was done on his legs at 3 am to see if DVTs (deep vein thrombosis) were going on in his calves, and there are NONE, thank God.
The doctors are not sure if the recent Predaxa blood thinner is to blame (given to him for the huge surface blood clot in his forearm) in that it's not working properly, or what. So they're holding off on giving it to him for now while they come up with another treatment plan for him.
He's aggravated to be back in the hospital with another setback, and being on prednisone is not helping his mood, to be honest. Steroids are never helpful to anyone with mood swings and temperament, only with helping keep the inflammation down and keeping the new liver from rejecting. Taking so many drugs is a difficult thing for DH, who's never taken medication in his life aside from a statin and a small dose of a heart med after his triple bypass in 2020.
I'm on my way to the hospital now with his CPAP machine and his tablet and some encouraging words to get him over this hump.
I'll update when I have news to share, hopefully all good.
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5.27.22
12:00 noon
DH is being discharged from the hospital in the next hour or two! The PEs are small enough that continued use of blood thinners should manage them for the next 3-6 months. The hematologist said the lungs will normally dissolve the clots naturally, in time. A blood test is being run to see if there is any auto immune disorder at play contributing to the clotting issue, just to be sure.
His constipation issue has been resolved and his liver function tests are all within normal range. The anti rejection meds will actually be lowered today, which is a bit more good news.
I'll update again later. For now, we're just looking forward to leaving the hospital and having a relaxing afternoon and evening at the hotel.
I'm continuing to lift you both up in prayer.
Divine intervention the whole way.
Anyway, Alva, Honey and I are sweating bullets out at the pool now in the 105 degree heat. Chuck is getting a magnesium IV now bc he's still too low, for some reason, even with 3 tabs a day by mouth and 2 previous IVs, and DD will go pick him up later when he's discharged. I bought them both a Mayo Hoodie which I have in the closet in our hotel room. Dd has been wanting one but didn't want to spend the $$$$$. Slick, eh? :) And yes, I am very glad to have had this happen HERE instead of in Denver, amen sister.
Glad Chuck is coming back home to the home away from home. Thinking of you. Hope it gets cool enough for the hoodies.
One thing you should ask about, is he constipated because of the magnesium deficiency? It is a common side effect of being deficient in mag.
Did you know that gray hair is a copper deficiency? Yep, started using collodial copper and no more gray hair. Which is kinda sad because it was cutlet and my blonde hair is straight as can be. :-(
Please be careful sun bathing, you can get to much sun really quickly in this climate, speaking from personal experience.
Wait...so if I start taking collodial copper my gray will go AWAY? Is that what u r saying????? For real???? I'd really love to ditch the dye.....I wonder what color my natural hair is?? 🤣
Seriously, Lea, I'm glad Chuck's latest health issue was, comparatively speaking, a blip on the radar, and nothing major. Continuing prayers for you both.