Cleveland Rocks!

Mom was taken to surgery at 8:30 (EST) We were told to expect the first procedure to run approximately 2 hours, with primary stent graft aorta repair deployment taking approximately 6 hours. In others words... a really long day for every one. Mom claims she wasn't the least bit nervous ...but the blood pressure monitor told otherwise in the pre-op room. I think that is to be expected. You know, the aorta is a wondrous thing. It is the main artery in the human body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it splits into two smaller arteries. The aorta distributes oxygenated blood to all parts of the body through the systemic circulation. So having a healthy aorta is a healthy aorta is...well, a pretty big deal!

I really have to brag on this 'trial' that Cleveland Clinic is conducting that Mom qualified as a surgical candidate for repair. Traditionally, if you have an aneurysm ( dilation or ballooning of part of the aorta ) that is behind the heart like Mom's or in the large and in the abdomen (also like Mom's) the only was to repair is with an 'open incision' surgery. Besides the obvious recovery aspect s of long anesthesia and a large incision there is a greater risk of paralysis from swelling of the aorta. This newer procedure is a microsurgery. Not even a band aid. The general anesthesia time is minimal. More importantly through a series of very sophisticated computerized monitoring of spinal fluid, and  more things than I can enumerate here, the risks overall are reduced dramatically. This is the only place in the world offering this procedure and they have been doing it for 9 years! I say this to encourage anyone you know that has a problem with an inoperable aneurysm to seek out Dr Eagleton. While it is still considered a trial they have done over a thousand cases. Medicare & Aetna are paying so I assume other insurance policies will also pay. This is literally a life saving surgery! I just can't say enough good things about everyone here at Cleveland Clinic. Traveling to a hospital out of town isn't fun, but sometimes necessary.

By the way..this was NOT a paid endorsement :)

All of this to say..so far, so good. I will keep you posted

Here we go again! We are officially on the way back to Cleveland Clinic for Stage Two of Mom's Aortic Stent Graft. As we were loading the car Mom looked at me and said, "Have you seen everyone on Facebook posting about going to the beach and other fun vacations? I wish that was us" I would be a bit dishonest if I didn't agree with her, but things could be worse. We are fortunate that this is operable, that the surgeons agreed to take her case and she is healthy enough to make thsee trips. Not to be overlooked are your kind donations that help so much with the day to day expenses of out of town medical care. Pre-op is Monday, surgery is Tuesday. Please keep everyone is your prayers. I will keep you updated ♥

Cleveland Stent Graft Stage One

Excuse Me For Writing This Backwards     

We are back in Memphis now, Mom is working on her recovery and there is much to catch you all up 

on. 

 After our midnight hotel room move,we finally settled in for a quick nap. Mom had to be up and have finished her breakfast by 7:00 eastern time and be at the clinic early for all of her pre-op tests, mri's , ekg's, echo's, etc. By early Wednesday afternoon she had her first procedure which required her to be admitted and stay in an observation room overnight. Dad and I weren't expecting that, so off we went to the cafeteria for dinner and rest up for the next day of supporting her for surgery.

Now, this surgery is a fascinating thing. If you know anything at all about aortic repair it can be a very dicey procedure. So precarious, that the reason this one was not done in Memphis is that it isn't offered there. Cleveland Clinic is the only hospital offering this stent graft. They have been performing the trial for approximately 10 years and have done thousands but still a trial as we understand because they are still 'tweaking' the process. The long and short of it (pun intended) is that a flexible stent is inserted inside of the aorta. In Mom's case in two stages. The first stage is the upper section which sits just behind the heart and extends through the thoracic area. Her aneurysm is quite impressive so this section of stent did not quite cover all of it. The stent is also a graft so the capallaries  will start to infuse from her outside of her existing aorta wall to inside of her new stent. How cool is that? I thought of putting some photos of the stent here as I find it all so interesting, but realized that some of you may not. So I will refrain. 

Mom's surgeon is a bit of a, correction, a total control freak. I am actually quite ok with that. One of the things he does is send his patients having this procedure straight from surgery to ICU.We learned from  a nurse there that is his way of not losing control of his patients.. I hope this doesn't offend any recovery nurses out there.. While mom was in ICU immediately after surgery she had a bit of time getting comfortable. Well, hello! Who wouldn't? If you have followed her blog or know her well, during her very first surgery a dear friend, RuthAnne Talley gave her a throw blanket from her beloved team the Memphis Tigers. It has been through open heart surgery, two hip replacements, rehap twice, another trip to the hospital..but it accidentally got left behind on this trip. She was fretting about it when we arrived in Cleveland and I happened to mention it to my husband Jim. Imagine my surprise when dad and I returned from that first long day at the hospital to regroup for a few minutes to find this in our room

The plan was that Mom stay in the hospital from May 3 until the 14th. But... they don't know Mom. On the 11th we were on a plane headed home. Now I know what you are thinking, no we didn't just bust out! We had an official discharge and were approved to leave.  She still has orders to 'chill out'. This is also a graft and as such has to do its thing to heal. But, she also can get up and move around, just needs to rest appropriately. She sees her cardiologist in a few days.. will update again soon. 

We just can't thank you all for your prayers and support. The uplifting of positive energy could be felt as we anxiously waited in ICU for every update on that blue pager hanging around dad's neck. 

    

Memphis to Cleveland

Sorry for the pause in between posts but to be honest, it has been a bit busy around here. Since my last post with Mom and Dad under the Welcome to Cleveland Sign. Our adventure continues...


Before leaving for Cleveland, we drove to Nashville and stayed with my daughter Katie and her family for the evening to enjoy a visit . She prepared favorite foods for Mom and Dad including wonderful home made cookies by one of the great grand's, Avery.
That little girl can really cook! Katie offered to take us to the airport which allowed us to check our bags at the curb.
Now that is service.

Our trip included a nice connection in Baltimore but after a delay, it suddenly became very quick. Those kinds of travel challenges are always so much fun.. well, not really. We finally reached Cleveland, and headed to baggage claim for our bags and to make arrangements for our 45 minute trip to our hotel. Now just try to imagine the expressions on our faces we descend the escalator. I am sure it must have been comical to anyone looking on. One by one our expressions changed from weary to elated as we each noticed the driver holding the placard calling for "Millican". I walked up and asked, are you looking for us? Hoping, but unsure of course. Yes, someone had gifted us a driver to the hotel. A sedan. Ready and waiting. A beautiful anonymous gesture just in time. Mom was just about worn out by this time. He wouldn't even allow us to tip, said that it was covered too, along with the return trip. Many thanks anonymous donor!

PEANUT BUTTER & CRACKERS

We made it to the hotel by 7:30 just in time for a nice relaxing evening...if only they had not given our room away. Not possible I said. It was confirmed weeks ago. I confidently flashed my confirmation number! Dad is getting frustrated (remember, he is retired hospitality corporate office) mom is really tired.. the clock is ticking, I am starting to steam more than a little. Oh, have I mentioned that we haven't eaten since 11 am? Remember that short connection in Baltimore? I was going to have crab cakes with those wonderful red potatos in jackets they do so well, maybe a bit of spicy slaw..but I digress, "Sorry, all booked up. We can put the three of you in a King room" All I can do is stare as he offers this, " well there is a sleeper sofa" in the most jovial voice he can muster. So off we slog from our downgraded suite we were formerly so excited about, and oh yes, I notice the restaurant is now closing. Seriously?

So let this be a lesson, never ever travel without food.. so we dined in style using our suitcase as a table. It was actually kind of humorous. Ok, maybe it wasn't but we were better. I got on the phone with the to hotels customer care hotline ( appropriately named I might add, dad and I were certainly 'hot') to give them an opportunity to make things right. As dad talked I was mentally drafting my TripAdvisor Post bashing them and their next of kin...mom was preparing for bed, she had an early appointment and she had to have eaten breakfast no later than 7am the next morning. Now, for those of you that know and love my mom since her retirement I will leave it there. For those of you that aren't accustomed to her daily routine, let's just say that we planned on tip toeing. :)  

It's now 10:45pm. .there's knocking on our door..oh geez, what now??? Well, well.   It seems our call to customer care office, and maybe some name dropping did the trick. Miraculously someone has checked out in the middle of the night and a suite has become available at 11 pm. You just can't make this stuff up people. 

And so begins the Epic Journey of Shirley's Aorta Stent Graft... 

Many of you have written private messages asking how you can help. Here is one way, any gift small or not so small is appreciated. This is a secure way of funding credible recipients. We also hope you will offer your prayers of healing and guidance for the surgeons and nurses. Thank you friends!

https://www.gofundme.com/256dn598

Update April 2016 Back To Cleveland Clinic For Surgery Next Week

Back in 2010 when Mom was diagnosed with Cardiomyopathy we initially thought that she only had a small aneurysm that was to be watched. So they have done just that. Every six months... off to our wonderful doctors at Stern Clinic for check ups. Well... As luck would have it.. the silly thing has decided to grow and it has a twin! Yep! There are now two. You see. Multiples run in our family. I have a great grandparent that was a multiple, my cousin had triplets, my brother Ricky & Diane had twins and one of my sons has twins. So, why not. Mom has twin aneurysms. ♥♥ Hoping to have it corrected in Memphis, our hopes were dashed this past fall when we learned they had become too large to safely correct with a traditional surgery. All of her tests and files were sent to her cardiac surgeon (we rented a U-Haul for that) at Cleveland Clinic who referred her to a vascular surgeon who referred her to another surgeon, well.. you get the picture. The short of it is, a week before Christmas last year (2015) Mom and I dashed up to Cleveland, Ohio for a consult about a new trial for a Stent Graft procedure for her entire aorta that will repair both aneurysms without any major open incisions. It is a clinical trial, but in its 10th year, so we have full confidence in the procedure. It will be a two part procedure with at least one week in the hospital each surgery followed by a six week recovery. It will be an interesting couple of months... The first surgery is scheduled for May 5. We head out for Cleveland the first of next week.  Mom, Dad and I will be traveling together. We appreciate all of your prayers and healing thoughts on this new journey.. I will keep you posted!

Cheryl and Family

♫ ♫ ♪ Oh Happy Day ♪ ♫ ♫

First of all, Mom told me this weekend that it is "time to shut the blog down... I'm not sick anymore"! Well, that's great news. Hmmm, wonder if she has informed her corps of doctors about this new revelation. To be honest, Mom is doing just great. We haven't posted in a while because, well, to be honest she has been kind of boring. Now, don't take that wrong. I mean this in the most positive way. I will take this boring over medical excitement any day. If you recall, there was a problem with an infection at her surgery site. As she began treatment for this infection the docs realized that the problem was deeper than muscle and tissue and also involved her sternum. You know that large bone in the middle of your chest that your ribs connect to. It is kind of an important bone. Since the open heart surgery Mom wasn't sure if the discomfort was from the procedure or something else. I mean, after all they cut your sternum down the middle, use this sort of crane to move r-i-b-.... I suppose you don't really want to hear all of those details. Let us suffice to say, it was hard for Mom to know which 'Ouch' was new to be honest. After her unexpected week at Baptist week last month to start these IV antibiotics, she went home with a PIC line (a catheter placed in your upper arm that leads directly to your heart) so that daily heavy duty medications could knock this infection out! But now.. enter Medicare in all of their wisdom~ I know that I mentioned this before but it bears repeating; if you need medications through Medicare now and they cannot be dispensed in pill form you have to either stay in the hospital for the infusion, or have the dosages given at a clinic. Of course, with any heavy duty medicine there are side effects like nausea, lethergy, flushing, chills... oh wait, that was dad! Silly me, we were talking about Mom. Actually Mom did have some icky side effects and they changed her meds and the last three weeks she went to the clinic every day for her infusion. Last week Mom had a CT scan done to check progress of the treatment. Dr Threlkeld announced, "your CT looks good- you are done". "When?" Mom anxiously asked. "Right now!" Hooray! I think she probably would have given him a big ole' hug and kiss if; A) he wasn't a good bit younger and married and; B) Dad would be sooo jealous. ☺ So, the PIC line was removed, they turned in all of the paraphernalia that went with it and said their goodbyes. Naturally, Dad didn't leave his special carrier that he rigged for transporting the infusion bag... you just never know when a good carrier might be needed! So now, we wait. Mom has an appointment with our Primary Care doc and her Cardiologist at the end of the month. Hopefully she will finally be able to start her Cardio rehab at that point. Although, she is doing anything she wants with the provision she still not lift anything over 8 lbs. She looks so much better. In fact I have told her, as have others, that she looks the best they have seen in a while. Of course, it could be her new hair cut ... she is keeping it shorter and looks so sassy. 
Thank you all for sharing this time with us, praying with us and encouraging Mom with your posts, emails and especially the donations.  It has been an encouragement to our entire family. Keep calling her and emailing. Who knows, in a couple of months you may just see them at a class luncheon.
Take care and God Bless
Cheryl Millican Haas
~on behalf of Shirley & Bill  Millican, Rick & Diane Millican, my husband Jim, six grand children and two great great grands!

A Happy Mother's Day Week End!

After many requests from blog followers, I finally talked Mom into a few photos. These were taken this past weekend at my nieces graduation celebration from the University of Memphis. Mom is continuing to do well. She had a visit with the infectious disease doctor yesterday who said that he was 'pleased with her progress'. He wants her to continue her IV antibiotic therapy for another four weeks.

Here is the "  Mobile IV Cart"   that I mentioned in the previous update.. Pretty creative don't you think? It's also handy for holding her handbag!








Proud 'Nana' and grand daughter, Kristy, after her graduation from University of Memphis. Kristy was honored with a State award. She was the recipient out of all 4 year Universities in the state. We are all so proud for her!

Kristy and her award....

Hi Friends.. Thank you for checking in on our mom, Shirley. Since being home with the IV antibiotics her infection has been clearing up nicely. Dad drives her into Dr Threlkeld's clinic 3 times a week to have her IV infusion dose bolus and battery packs changed out. Well, not Mom's batteries, the ones on her infusion therapy pump~Mom is having some problems tolerating the large doses of antibiotics; either that or she has morning sickness! I guess that really isn't funny is it? However, I did read where a woman in India had twins at 70.....but, I digress. Back to the clinic; they have changed the dosage on the auto pump and hopefully that will help her feel better and want to eat again. Yesterday she only had jello and crackers. "Hmmm,thinking back, isn't that what one munches on for morning sickness?"..."Nah; but there was that woman in India..."

As the saying goes, it is 'no hill for a high stepper' and I expect this regimen to take care of getting her back on track. She is planning on attending her granddaughter's graduation celebration this Saturday so you know that she is getting around well. Speaking of getting around, if you know my Dad - you will love this. My son, Kris, called me yesterday and said,"Mom, have you seen what Poppa has made now?" He was laughing so hard that I could barely understand him. Dad and Mom had stopped by his home in Collierville to see their almost flooded new home (not a domestic accident, from all of the rain and the Wolff River rising). Kris said that Mom came strolling up pulling an aluminum cart with a small black bag of some sort on it. At first, Kris thought it was a golf cart, but realized it was too small for that. Looking further he noticed some strange parts... by the handle there appeared to be a bar for holding something and towards the wheels was a spiral metal piece for storing something... this seemed so familiar, but what? As "Nana" got closer, pulling her customized portable IV case carry cart, Kris realized that this was a cart for a portable spray washer. In fact, it was a washer that Dad had discarded some time ago, and kept the cart because, "you never know when you might need a good cart". The best part, it works! It folds so that it fits easily in the car and solves the problem of the heavy IV tote. Mom still isn't supposed to lift over 10 pounds, I don't know what they actually expected her to do. I guess she was to have a lackey follow behind and carry her kit for her. As Kris said, "It's a Poppa!" 

Keep laughing.. fortunately, there is no antidote!

Hope you are all well.. we are better every day!

Cheryl and family

Back At Home!!

This is going to be a quick update today, but will fill you in more this evening. Mom and Dad and the docs finally got everything arranged so that she could be discharged and they got home late yesterday afternoon. She is still receiving the antibiotics by infusion therapy, but she doesn't have to stay in the hospital. She was sooo glad to be back at her house as was Dad. I met them over there and she was having a snack (late lunch) in her favorite recliner. They wanted me to see how their garden had progressed so we walked around the back yard and looked at the azaleas and their roses that are absolutely gorgeous. We sat outside in the nice warm afternoon sun and chatted for quite a while. She is feeling so much better and is back on track. Prayers answered!

Cheryl

Ready To Go Home!

I will do my absolute best to try and not harp on the asinine rules set by Medicare that are keeping Mom in the hospital right now. But first, just to let you know, she is healing very well with the regimen of  IV antibiotics that she has been on since Monday. Her incision site is looking better and more importantly she is feeling better... but (here it comes) she is still at the hospital even though all three doctors were ready for her to be released yesterday morning. One may ask, "why, if the doctors are in agreement for her to leave hasn't she been discharged". Excellent question. For that answer we will have to ask 'Mr Medicare". For those of you that have dealt with issues through Medicare you undoubtedly know where this is going. For the rest of you, well, you had better sit down. It seems that the new Medicare rules for not covering medications taken outside of the hospital now also apply to infusion therapy. We wondered when Mom was discharged from Cleveland Clinic in March why they gave us her prescriptions to be filled at a nearby pharmacy. In the past when you were discharged, you were given your supply of medications to take with you with refills to be purchased at your pharmacy. Perhaps, we thought, this was a Cleveland Clinic policy. Nope! In fact, it is a new Medicare policy. Here is our dilemma, we have a case worker and all three doctors offices working on this, but please, please if you have any insight let us know. Mom is sooo ready to get back home, and to be honest get up and moving around again. Medicare will not approve in home infusion therapy, but the caseworker worked with them to agree to it, in principal, but Mom's co-pay per week is $800. She is likely looking at 6 weeks of antibiotics. Actually, Medicare wants her to stay in the hospital for the 2x daily treatments. NO. The infectious disease doctors office worked out where Mom would be fitted for a constant infusion type halter that she would have to wear around 24/7 and go to the doctors office every three days for a refill because, again, Medicare won't cover medications taken out of the hospital. So, at this moment, Mom is dressed in her day clothes having already had this mornings treatment and will just lounge around her hospital room or take a stroll waiting for her next treatment in 12 hours. Did I mention that the hospital is near capacity and they really need her room? Thank you for letting me vent. No more. I promise; well, until Medicare does something else dumb. 

** I know, let's start a "Free Shirley" petition!     ^_^ 
                                                                                  ~

Feeling A Bit Better

I wanted to be sure and post an update on Mom before turning in for the night. I stayed with her until early afternoon and then Dad came up to stay with her until tomorrow. She is doing well, but due to her being on this potent "Janitor In A Drum" antibiotic cocktail IV, we just aren't completely comfortable with her staying alone in case she has a reaction. These are some heavy duty antibiotics and seem to be showing some progress all ready. Her vitals are back into normal range, her white count is good and other than not looking better yet, the area of concern is hopefully healing from the inside. We had the pleasure of having all three doctors come by this morning. Dr D., our internist; Dr S, most wonderful cardiologist, and Dr T, infectious disease specialist. Dr T indicated that from the looks of the recent CAT scan that was read by yet another specialist, the infection is 'of' her sternum but not necessarily 'in' her sternum. That is to say, "it is best case scenario' if you have a serious post-op infection. They placed a picc line in so that she can possibly be discharged from the hospital tomorrow and she will continue IV antibiotics at home for an undermined time. She is primarily concerned about being well enough to go to Kristy's (grand daughter) U of Memphis graduation and see her newest great grandson arrive in a couple of weeks. So, for today, it has been good. Really good. We are ready to be back home again. Thanks for your positive comments, emails and notes. We all really appreciate them. 
Cheryl

Shirley Is Back In The Hospital

Here is a photo that I took of Mom when she found out that she was going to be admitted to the hospital today! HA-Ha!

Hi all.. I haven't updated in a few weeks because things have been going along pretty well. I have also been playing catch up at work and thankfully have been really busy. But that really is no excuse and I apologize for being remiss in keeping Mom's friends up to date on her progress. So, where did we leave off? Ah, yes. Mom is doing really, really well. "What" you ask, "why is she is the hospital?" That is a very good question. Remember back several postings ago when I mentioned our 'little bump in the road' with her incision not healing properly? It still is giving her problems and now her cardiologist has become concerned after a recent CAT scan. When Mom saw her cardiologist last Friday, they decided; well, actually Dr Smith decided, that while her echo-cardiogram looked great she was rather concerned that she still had pain and a lot of inflammation at her incision site. She ordered a CAT scan and some other tests but said, "you will be seeing Dr Threlkeld the first of the week". Hmmm, notice she did not say, "we will make you an appointment" or "I will consult". That should have been a sign of what was to come when she called this morning to inform Mom that she would be admitted for treatment of her infection in her sternum. "Goodness, I just got up" Mom told her, "So, what day will I go". From what I understand the immediate response was, "I am writing up the orders now, so you can go ahead and go as soon as possible." At least it isn't back to Cleveland. Not that it wasn't a great facility but... this is so much closer. So here we are, she is on her second bag of antibiotic, had blood drawn for cultures and they are having the CAT scans read again to determine how deeply into the sternum the infection has gone. Hopefully this can all be cleared up with IV antibiotics. 

I just have to share the funniest thing that Dad said this afternoon. We arrived in separate cars, and I met them in the admissions office. We waited almost an hour and a half just to register... grrrr...and then he said it. "You know you are in for trouble in a waiting room when they provide recliners.." I looked around, and sure enough there were quite a few recliners in the room. Maybe it was just the moment, but we really laughed a while over that. I am sitting here listening to the steady low pulse of the IV solutions running and Mom trying to get comfortable in a different bed again. I have the television set on a station that has nice soft music and ambient videos of the ocean and waves. Trying to help Mom go to sleep. I'm staying up until they have run these new IV's to make sure that she tolerates them with no problem. I may need to change the channel to something more exciting before I fall to sleep too!

I promise to keep you updated. More news as we know it.

Oh, by the way. She is at Baptist East, but really needs to rest so emails are great but no phone calls or visits just yet please.

Thank you so much friends and family, your continued prayers and emails have meant so much to all of us.. especially Mom and Dad.

Cheryl

Big Surprise... Shirley Is Not Very Patient

Mom is continuing with the process of healing from her surgery. It is so hard to believe that it will be only one month tomorrow. You know how it is I am sure; some months fly by and others creep along ~ this has been a bit longer than most. Mom's heart is doing great! Apparently the repairs were successful.. however, she is still battling a couple of post operative issues. We know, "this is normal", "part of the process", but Mom isn't known for lying about being a 'Cleopatra' as one of her friends recently suggested she become. That vision really gave us all a laugh. Can you imagine us waving frond's to fan her and Dad peeling grapes for her? Ok, Dad would probably peel grapes for her.. but the rest of it is pretty much not going to happen. The fluid they drained just before she was discharged had returned, and while Dr D kept watching it; it just wouldn't go away on its own. There is only so much Lasix can do! Yesterday she had another Thorocentesis (where they go in and 'tap' your chest to remove fluid from around your lung). That should help immensely with her breathing and comfort. It was an all day event. Literally. Mom and Dad were at Baptist East ambulatory at 6:00am and Mom had nothing to eat or drink after midnight... ugh; no coffee.. They were taken to a room around mid morning where they waited, and waited, and waited for her procedure. Dad said the waiting room was packed at 6:00 and his theory is that everyone is told to come in at the same time. Mom's procedure was at 2:30 and took about 20 minutes. They weren't exactly 'happy campers'. Then Mom had to stay for and hour and a half for observation. The good news is they took care of the problem. At Mom's most recent doctor visit Dr D, he announced that she could go off of oxygen except while walking. That is great news, just a bit hard to give up after being on it for almost a month. She is using it to sleep and while walking outside.. four times a day! She said that after being at Baptist East for 8 hours yesterday, not wearing it and still having a 94! pulse oxygen reading she was ready to sleep without it. Just a couple of weeks ago she was barely at 82.. great progress. It looks like pretty soon they can return the oxygen machine all together. One other small problem they are still battling is an infection at her primary incision site. They are trying one more oral antibiotic before taking the next step. Mom said yesterday (after 4 doses of this new antibiotic) that she thought it might be looking a little better. Fingers Crossed..
Other than Mom being very impatient about the healing process, she is really doing great. I know we have all been very blessed through all of this...thank you for your continued prayers and support.
Happy Easter everyone!
 Cheryl 
*Photos other than those taken in Cleveland are provided by granddaughter Katie.

Mid Week Update

Hi all, we haven't forgotten you but we are getting settled back in and I had to get back to the business of running my business. Mom is continuing to recuperate but we did have a little 'hiccup' last weekend. Last Thursday, you may recall, she had her first visit with our internist who was very pleased with her recovery but concerned with the healing of her incision. We were actually concerned also, and rather expecting this. He gave her an antiobiotic cream ~ wow, so expensive!!~ and by Friday evening it looked so much .....worse! Yep, never fails does it. You need your doctor over the weekend, your car breaks down on a holiday, the kids get sick during spring break.. Dad called me late Friday evening and asked if we could come by and give them a second opinion. Low grade fever, incision looking rather angry. Yes, we concur, it doesn't look so great. We called the doctor on call for our internist, who hadn't seen mom of course, and he recommended being seen either at a minor med for antibiotics or preferably the ER. ugh. The dicussion went something like this... "What do we think about minor meds?"-me, "If we go there with a patient that is 2 1/2 weeks post op for open heart surgery and they don't send her immediatly to the ER, I would be worried"- Dad, "If we go to the ER, there will be all of those sick people and germs"-Mom, "It's Friday night, they will be packed!"- Jim. It was a tough decision and now about 10:30pm.  "Let's call the on-call doctor for the surgeon at Cleveland Clinic" Jim suggested. Great idea. Let me interject something here very quickly. You will have to think about this for a moment; how exactly does one describe an 'angry looking' incision (I will spare you the details for Mom's privacy) over the phone to a doctor 900 miles away. Let me tell you, it isn't that easy. At any rate, same conclusion. It definately needed to be treated, but it could possibly wait until Monday am if her fever stayed under 101. Excellant. I recommeded warm compresses and taking her pain meds on a regular basis as it has Tylenol in it and discontinued the Bactriban just in case it was causing irritation. Well, it turns out I was partially correct. Mom made it to Monday morning and they were at the doctors office early. I was just sure that he was going to put her back into the hospital on antibiotics but fortunately he put her on really strong oral antibiotics and had her start back on the topical antibiotic cream plus oral sulfur. Oops, my bad on the cream. At any rate Mom was feeling much improved by Tuesday and her fever was down. She had a recheck on Wednesday by Laura, our FNP who said things were looking good, and her white count was back in range. The best part is her oxygen saturation has improved as well. In fact, they are hopeful that within the next month she may be able to discontinue the oxygen. It's not really funny, but we sort of tease her about not being able to hide out anymore; we just follow her oxygen tubing to find what room she is in. Of course, Dad has her rigged up where she can go anywhere downstairs without moving the oxygen generator. Now that she is feeling better she is back to walking and in fact walked outside four times yesterday, each time increasing the distance by about 10' or so. She will start cardiac rehab after she has her visit with the cardiologist mid April. She may even be in a marathon before you know it!

I had the pleasure of presenting Mom and Dad with a check from your donations this weekend. They were so surprised at the generosity and are so appreciative. For those of you that donated anonymously, they say "Thank You" very much. Additionally, they have received so many cards and emails. It is wonderful to see how many caring and concerned friends are continuing prayers and support. Our entire family thanks you from the bottom of our hearts. You will never know how much the support has meant for all of us. So, even though I am still posting for Mom, I am signing off this time from all of us..

Shirley and Bill
Rick and Diane- Melissa, Kristy,Michelle, Adam & great-grandson Landon
Cheryl and Jim - Erik, Kris, Katie, Stacy & Shawn

*Photos other than those taken in Cleveland are provided by granddaughter Katie.

A quick update to let you know that the post operative recuperation continues. I went to Mom's yesterday and Dad did acquiesce and accept that golf date. He came back in with a bit of a rosy tint from the sun and his hair slightly tousled from the wind but a big smile on his face. I wonder if he is 'feeling it' today... he hasn't golfed since the really cold weather began. We girls visited, I worked on their laptop a bit as it decided it still wanted to connect to the wi-fi in Cleveland instead of Memphis and just wasn't cooperating. Mom napped. She and dad had already made a stroll to the next door neighbors driveway and back before I arrived. This is approximately the same distance as the loop she was doing on the hospital floor. Still working on the oxygen saturation and fluid in her chest and a nagging problem with her incision but all in all, doing quite well. Dad has made a trip to the pharmacy this morning to pick up all of Mom's new meds. I have learned a lot more about this medicare "donut hole" than I ever wanted to know...It has really made Jim and I reconsider our retirement plans. Who knows what will going on when he retires in a few years. (We plan on retiring very, very young ☺) This is my official lunch break from some gardening today, so I am going back out into the sunshine to dig in some dirt. I am not sure which dirt, any will do.

Cheryl

Driving Miss Shirley..

Today was Mom's first check up since being discharged from the hospital. She went to our wonderful internist who gave her a thorough exam. "My goodness, that just isn't the same heart at all!" he told her happily. Let's run a few tests and see how everything else looks". Laura,the FNP stuck her head in the door just to say "Hi" and see how everything was going. Teresa was in and out taking blood, running the EKG, taking her for a chest xray. It's so comforting to be back in a familiar office again. You see, he is my family's internist also so I can officially claim him. My children went from pediatrician to him, so to say that we are all very close and we have great faith in his care is an understatement. You may recall, he is the one that first noticed a murmur in Mom's heart and was following it until November when he said "Whoops, don't like the sound of that" during her routine physical that began this journey. Dad and Mom came by and picked me up today so that I could go to the appointment with them. It was a bit humorous when they pulled up in their silver Park Avenue with Dad driving and Mom in the back seat behind him waving. I thought of the Queen Mum waving as she is escorted through a crowd. Mom isn't allowed to ride in the front seat until her sternum is fully healed. The last thing she would need right now would be an airbag or impact on her chest, so she sits in the back. "Driving Miss Shirley" dad calls it, I still think it looks rather royal. We arrived at the clinic and dad pulled up to the door and helped her out of the back seat with her cute portable oxygen compressor. I'm serious, it is rather cute. I should have taken a photo.. I forgot. From there he went to park and we walked into the lobby, took the elevator upstairs and down the hallway to the office. Dad came in a few minutes later. Did you notice something there? No wheelchair. Mom walked and without much problem except for fussing about the oxygen hose that was made for a much taller person no doubt. Her EKG was very good, and her oxygen saturation is ok, but needs some more time. It seems that most of the fluid that they removed from her 'tap' in the hospital has returned. "Don't worry, that is not unexpected" Dr D says so we won't worry. We only are to worry if she gains more that 3 lbs in a day or 5 lbs in a week or becomes short of breath. That would be an indication that the fluid was increasing. Let's see.. 3 lbs in a day or 5 lbs in a week...hmmm.. we were at the hospital for 15 days and I gained...AxB=C)7x2+1..Oh my goodness, I didn't gain weight on that restaurant food or midnight Hershey bar after all.. It is all fluid! Whew.  Seriously, Mom is recovering as expected though she was completely worn out after her appointment. She still has a lot of healing to do and yet needs to move around to keep that fluid off, but it hurts to move around so she should take a pain pill but that makes her sleep which causes fluid build up.Arrrgghhh. It makes one feel like the gerbel in the cage or 'which came first, the chicken or the egg'. 
Dad has a golf date tomorrow and at first he declined. Mom and I both told him to go and it didn't take much arm twisting to talk him into it. A day on the course with weather like we are having of late will do him a world of good. I guess Mom could ride in the cart with him so he could still be "Driving Miss Shirley". 
Hope you had a great day. We certainly did
Cheryl

Chillin' and Relaxin'

This is not a happy face and I will probably get grounded for posting it. However, this is the essence of how Mom feels about this whole 'adventure'. We are so thankful for the doctors and nurses both here and at Cleveland Clinic. So appreciative of the prayer lists, many emails, calls, blog followers... donations .... don't get me wrong. It is just that, well, Shirley just doesn't like being confined or being told what to do, sort of goes against the grain. Even though she wasn't thrilled about having to be in public "looking like an old lady", I think she looks terrific!

Mom told me that she was "chillaxin"- I don't care who you are, as the saying goes, that's funny. 

She/we have a doctor's appointment with our favorite  doctor tomorrow in Memphis, I will let you know how it goes.

Cheryl

Gel Beds, Cheerleaders and Missing Shoes...

Just a quick update to let you know that Mom is resting at home and recuperating. Most of all she seems to be sleeping. Dad and I have decided that it is either cumulative sleep deprivation or she misses the gel bed that she had at the hospital. Imagine missing a hospital bed! Not many patients say that I'll bet. Her bed was a gel core Versa Bed and had a function that whenever she rolled to one side, or in fact moved in any way you would hear the slight hummm of the mechanics adjusting the mattress to mold around her. This may not be very 'genteel' as my Mother In Law Ann would remind me, but it was somewhat like lying on a big silicone implant. We jokingly called it the giant TaTa mattress (nods to you ML).
Before I get into trouble here I had better put that story to bed. Oh My Gosh! I have morphed into my dad... that was a classic corny pun!

You know, I love cheerleaders. I was one, my daughter was one and one of my nieces was on a National Championship squad. However, I can't say that spending the weekend before we left the hotel with a full house of 6-16 year-olds there for a state competition is my idea of fun. I think they all practiced their routines all night before competition, went through the breakfast buffet like locusts and worst of all confiscated all of the bellman carts the night before. Consequently, when we were ready to check out of the hotel with our 8 pieces of luggage and oxygen machines, wheelchair,etc... no cart! It was a good thing we were on first name basis with everyone at this point as the bellman came up and locked the elevator on our floor and one of us guarded it to keep all of the 'cheer people' out.. then he hand carried luggage, to the elevator and everyone except for me got on and went down to our awaiting taxi. Now looking back on the next event, it is funny.. but at the time... not so much! I was performing the "last check" of the hotel rooms. You know the drill; closets, check; dresser drawers, check; night stand drawer, oops-gloves and scarf, etc. Finally, all done I only needed to grab my purse and carry on bag and slip on my shoes and head downstairs. Shoes...Shoes? "Oh no, where are my shoes?" At that point I have a vague recollection of dad zipping about grabbing up last minute things and packing them in his bag. NOT my shoes!! I call down to Jim and explain my predicament."You will just have to come on down, we will look for something, we are already late!". So off I go, with my nice suit on and barefoot. A true hillbilly I guess. After having to wait a while for an elevator I finally get on with at least 419 giggling 8-10 year olds in full competition mode. Sparkles on their face, hairbows match their pom poms AND they had pushed every button. Arrrggghhh. From the 8th floor we went up to 13 and stopped at every floor on the way down. They stepped on my toes.. I could actually feel the creepy germs infiltrating my soles off of the elevator carpet. Ewww. At last, main floor and I run to the car all the while hoping "please don't have my house shoes or flip flops to wear" . Fortunately Dad found the actual pair of shoes that I had set at the end of my bed , by my carry on and purse mind you, and after cleaning my feet with hand sanitizer slipped them on. My only hope was that the hand sanitizer would also work on bare feet...

"Just Click Your Heels Three Times, Close Your Eyes and say, There's No Place Like Home..."

We have clicked our heels and at last.. we are home! Home as in our beds, our favorite pillow, and most importantly Dad's favorite recliner! After hearing she was being discharged to the hotel, Mom had a surprise visit from her surgeon and cardiologist. Dr. Smedira didn't come by to look at her incision or anything of that nature, it was just to chat, see if she or dad had any questions, and..  ready for this?.. Give Her A Hug! Ok, I know that I keep saying this but I am an official Cleveland Clinic fan! Discharge was very streamlined and didn't take long and that was that. Well, not exactly. You knew it wasn't that easy didn't you? Before discharge one of her favorite nurses came by to remove her four sutures and take out her IV. Yes, I said four sutures, and they were from a port not the surgery. All of the surgical sutures were performed as if it were plastic surgery. Why, she'll be back in bikinis and plunging necklines in no time ☺. We are still having to watch one tiny place on her incision line, but everything else looks great. At Cleveland Clinic they are anti-sticking; which is to say that they keep a port and iv in for blood gases, draws, medications, etc. The bruising from her many arterial lines and heart lung procedure and are almost gone and with compliments to her oh-so-fabulous gel bed not even one tiny red spot on her even after being in bed so long. Back to our little challenge. For those of you that are dealing with home oxygen, my hat is off to you. For those that haven't maybe you will learn a bit here as we did. Our case worker helped us set up accounts in Cleveland and Memphis for Mom's oxygen generator at the hotel and at home before she could leave the hospital. We had the delivery of the portable tank to the hospital to get her to the hotel, once in the hotel she changed over to the generator. The oxygen generator is much like it sounds. It takes room air which contains approximately 24% oxygen, cleans it and compresses it to be delivered at the rate the patient needs. For the flight home, we had to order a special travel oxygen generator with battery packs. Obviously, you cannot travel with a large cylinder of oxygen onto an aircraft as that would be really dangerous especially if you hit turbulence! So we have the 'Oxygen To Go' delivered to the hotel as well. But wait, it's coming up on a weekend and they need 48 hrs (excluding weekends to deliver). Decision time, wait on the delivery or pay extra for Saturday delivery on a 45 lb shipment.. hmmm...? Out comes the American Express card again. "We'll just have to pay them $10 a month!" Remember the part about Medicare NOT paying for the oxygen to fly home? We found out that they would pay for portable oxygen tanks if we were driving home. Sure, 800+ miles, rent a car,stop for tank refills along the way as they only last 4 hours each. Add Another hotel night too. It would probably take two days to drive and Mom being uncomfortable riding in a car with her sternum wired back into place. Yes, the health care system is broken. It is in dire need of repair, but in my opinion if this is how the government run Medicare works..well, I know we can do better than this! At any rate we arranged oxygen for all three locations and made arrangements to fly home. More on that adventure tomorrow...Almost forgot. Mom is doing really well considering the complexity of her surgery. She is really tired, really sore and has a pretty major bone to heal back up but she is on the road to recovery. For now, no visitors just yet. Dad is fielding phone calls and I will keep you posted here. Your continued prayers are appreciated. 
Cheryl