HAPPY NEW YEAR

Hello Everyone..... Today begins a new year ....a new hope. Hope and faith that Ron will pull through this setback before us. He is still on the ECMO machine which is doing all the work for his heart and lungs. He is still on the CRRT which is doing the work for his kidneys and the ventilator which helps him breath. He is on FULL support right now. The doctors say this is the best for him in order to buy them some time to figure out why this happened and to treat it as best they can. Yesterday afternoon they performed what is called an esophageal echo. They place a scope down his esophagus and get clear pictures of his heart ..while doing this they started to wean off the ECMO machine to see how his heart would respond. The machine was down to the lowest level and his heart would not show any signs of function at all. At this point they are treating this as rejection again and they plan to blast him with everything they have ....they are not holding back on anything. There is a new chemo drug which is also used for rejection that they started him on yesterday. This is the second chemo drug he has been put on. They help to fight off B-cells...which are the antibody cells that are attacking his heart. They believe now that this has been the extent of Ron's problems given the struggles he has had with organ rejection. Dr. Copeland and Dr. Bose did not give us much hope yesterday other thant they would try everything they could...but if it did not work ...this was it...so you can imagine...the family and I were emtionally distraught. I can honestly say I had my meltdown. But, I managed to pull myself together with the help of the Lord. The hospital chaplain came and prayed with us and helped put me at peace. Later in the evening, the evening chaplain came down, Dave...who has always come by Ron's bedside whenever he is on call...and prays with us. He did again last night. I was much more at peace with things last night and was able to get some rest in an empty room here on the unit. Dr. Smith had been by last night as well...before heading home for the night. She told me to hang in there....even if the medicine he is getting now does not work...she is not done fighting for Ron...she still has other things she wants to try. She did not elaborate...but she is a great doctor with a lot of fire in her. She cares deeply for Ron and our family and I know she will not give up until she has tried everything she can. I pray the Lord will guide her with wisdom and insight in Ron's care. I checked in on him a few times during the night...the nurses said he was doing really well. They did not have to give him any more blood as they did the nights past. They were able to pull more fluid off of him with the dialysis machine without compromising his blood pressure...so he was able to tolerate it well. His numbers look good. So, for now...we just wait to see what Ron wants to do ...what the medicine will do....But, above all....we know the Lord knows the plan and he knows the outcome. We simply keep prayer that he will give us all the strength we need for what lies ahead for Ron. Our hope, of course, is that he pulls through..that he beats the odds once again and proves everyone wrong! But, I am leaving it up to God and Ron to determine how things will play out from here. I had a long discussion with Ron last night. The choice is his and Gods going forward. I am here for him either way. I will not leave him. I have held his hand, stroked his face and rubbed his smooth bald head...because he loves the way that feels. He has opened his eyes for me several times. He squeezes my hand and responds when I ask him questions...he nods his head yes or no depending on what I ask him. At one point, I asked if he was in pain and he nodded no. I then asked him if he was o.k....and he nodded yes. When I came into his room this morning both of his arms were laying over his abdomen. I just figured the nurses had put him that way. They informed me later that he did that all by himself! I think that is quite amazing. He has been wiggling his feet a lot. So, the good thing is he is still in there. We just need to wait and see how much fight he has left in him. I am sure he will let us know soon enough. The doctors say if the medicine is going to work we will see something withing 24-48 hours. They plan to schedule a biopsy on his heart for Wednesday. They tried to do one yesterday but the catheter line in place now would not cooperate. I wish everyone a New Year filled with Gods Love and Peace in your hearts.

Blessings.....Mary