Back to the Hospital (Overdue Update)

I really should have included all this information before, but I've been waiting until I have everything before posting it.  Aaron was doing really well for quite a while after the last post about his antibiotics.  However, during one of his exams the medical staff discovered that the spot on his heart valve where the infection had been was growing again.  That wasn't good, so more tests were ordered to see what was going on.  Thankfully, the continued growth was not the infection growing again.  There were several hypotheses about what happened, but they didn't really come to a conclusion about it.  The only conclusion that mattered was that the heart valve had to go.  With the spot continuing to grow for whatever reason, the risk of having a piece flake off and enter Aaron's bloodstream increased.  The outcome of that would have been sudden death or a stroke that would leave him a vegetable.  Those are not acceptable risks.

The replacement surgery is set for August 3rd, though we don't have an exact time yet.  For those that fast, this Sunday (the 1st) would be an excellent opportunity to include Aaron and his surgery in your monthly fasting and prayer.

We are very happy that the surgery is happening sooner than originally planned.  Over the past several weeks we've noticed Aaron getting weaker.  He tires more easily and just doesn't have the energy he did before.  It's been getting worse and has been a big concern for all of us.  Aaron has been slowly moving over to our parents' house to live.  He is expected to be in the hospital for a week after surgery and will be very limited in his activities for another month after that.  He won't be able to drive for (I believe) two weeks and he isn't allowed back to work for a month, either.  Being cooped up like that isn't really Aaron's idea of a good time, but it is preferable to death or complete incapacitation.

Aaron had an angiogram this morning in preparation for the replacement surgery.  He was told his valve was diseased (duh) and that there was a lot of back flow from the valve.  We kind of expected that, considering his weakened state over the past little while.  When the surgeon finally came in to talk to him about the results and the upcoming surgery it was suggested that they perform the surgery tomorrow.  Had there been a heart valve of the proper size available the surgery most likely would have been moved up to tomorrow.  The valve is on order and will be available in time for the surgery on the 3rd.  Aaron will have another week of anticipation and prep time before he goes under.  Please hope and pray for the best.

Continuing Antibiotics

Now that Aaron is home he's much more comfortable.  He still needs to get his antibiotics every day for another six weeks or so.  Today he went to the hospital to receive them.  While he was there they arranged to have the medicine delivered here so he can administer it to himself.  That makes everything so much more convenient.  He gets a week of treatments and doesn't need to sit in the hospital to get them.  One more step to getting healthy.

After talking to Aaron today I realized how close to tragedy he came.  A few more days and we probably would have lost him.  One of the doctors spent several minutes impressing that fact on his mind.  Modern medicine is truly a miracle.  If not for that he would have surely died, regardless of when he got to the hospital.  We are very grateful.

Home Again!

Right this very moment Aaron is sitting in my parents' kitchen.  Gone are the hospital gown and pants.  He still has the PICC line because he will continue to get antibiotics every day.  For a while he'll be staying at my parents' house.  I'm not sure how long that will be.  It is infinitely more pleasant than staying in the hospital.  We're glad he's home!

Tomorrow

It looks like tomorrow (Wednesday) could be the day Aaron is released.  Yahoo!  The doctors have decided against the surgery because his heart is stronger and functioning better than they originally thought.  Miracles are such wonderful things.  I didn't ask Aaron today if there was an estimate on when in the future he could expect that surgery.  We can just hope it never becomes problematic.

We're all excited that Aaron should be out of the hospital soon!  The nine days thus far are more than enough.

On to the Kidneys

Aaron called around 7:45 this morning to give us an update on what the doctors said.  Two had already been in that morning to talk to him about his kidneys.  He didn't elaborate much on what they said except that if his kidneys were functioning how they wanted they would probably release him today.  It doesn't seem to be any more serious than making sure he drinks a lot of water today.  Hopefully it clears up quickly.

Still Not Yet

Sadly there is no new information regarding the possibility of the valve replacement surgery.  It's looking like they won't go through with it, but we haven't gotten that word yet for sure.

As for the hospital stay...it's going to last until Wednesday evening at the very earliest.  The infectious disease doctor told Aaron his white blood cell count was up after he went off the antibiotics.  He's off penicillin and vancomycin, but they put him on another broad spectrum antibiotic (I don't know which one) to try to take care of whatever is after him.  Blood was drawn to make cultures and those take two days for results. 

We're very grateful that Aaron is comparatively healthy throughout the process.  He looked a little pale when we saw him yesterday, but that was likely because he went for his first "walk" since arriving at the hospital.  He's been limited to trips to the bathroom for most of the time.  We only walked as far as the lobby because Andrew, Charlotte, and Daphne came just as we got to the elevators.  It's just a blessing to us that we can walk the halls with smiles on our faces.  It seems like every time I go visit him there is another patient's family member in the hall with tear-stained cheeks and red eyes.  I feel for them because I know that it could easily be us.  I remember what it was like to be that person when it was my dad in the hospital.  We just keep praying that the doctors will do what's best to keep Aaron healthy.

Not Yet

Aaron is neither coming home today nor do we know about the plans for surgery or release. The best we know is that he was taken off the antibiotic Vancomycin because it can cause kidney problems if you stay on it too long. This morning the doctor said there has been some inflammation since going off that antibiotic. We weren't told where or how bad the inflammation is, but I assume it's on the aortic valve. Hopefully they'll have all the decisions made by tomorrow. Being up in the air about everything isn't fun for anyone.