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Tregs wrote:Continued prayers for Joe's healing along with strength and comfort for the entire family on Monday morning.
Will his surgery be in the Robert's Building?

We don't know time or place. They said we won't know until Sun eve or Mon morn. I am assuming that with this being a heart floor, that there are probably so many emergencies that it is hard to plan. It was great meeting your other half!

BTW, my daughter lives in Wichita Falls. A young man from the church there brought her here and took her back today. There was a shooting in Hastings where 5 people were shot and one killed. He said that he spends his evenings there and would have been there had he not been here. Providence is amazing.

Surgery is tentatively scheduled for 7:30 AM Mon morn at the Roberts wing of Baylor in Dallas. The surgery is expected to last 6 hours. A few people who have had this procedure have come by to see him to talk about it and how it has worked for them.

Thank you for the update.

Joe will be in our hearts and in our prayers.

Monday morning, The Great Physician will guide the surgeon's hands. It is He who will be at work to allow Joe a normal, happy, productive life.

We will continue our prayers also.

Chas.

+1. Prayers will continue and please continue the updates as you have been doing.

COMPLETE change since last update. Now they want to try sending him home on just the medication. They feel he might still need the LVAD this summer, but at least then they would know he needed it. They will be implanting a defibrillator this mon rather than the LVAD.

Prayers sent, and keep the good updates coming!

wgoforth wrote:COMPLETE change since last update. Now they want to try sending him home on just the medication. They feel he might still need the LVAD this summer, but at least then they would know he needed it. They will be implanting a defibrillator this mon rather than the LVAD.

That's AWESOME news. I'm sure Joe is thrilled (not to mention you and Gina) since I know he was dreading taking such a big step with the LVAD surgery.
Continued prayers for Monday morning. 7:30AM at Roberts?

Tregs wrote:

wgoforth wrote:COMPLETE change since last update. Now they want to try sending him home on just the medication. They feel he might still need the LVAD this summer, but at least then they would know he needed it. They will be implanting a defibrillator this mon rather than the LVAD.

That's AWESOME news. I'm sure Joe is thrilled (not to mention you and Gina) since I know he was dreading taking such a big step with the LVAD surgery.
Continued prayers for Monday morning. 7:30AM at Roberts?

Still at Roberts, but time is different since this is a relatively simple process.. They had an hour slot in the afternoon after he does another procedure on another... so just whenever he finishes the other patient after lunch he can start.

The Drs said that in all liklihood he is going to have to get the pump this summer, but at least then we would know that he had to have it. He will also have an IV pump he will have to wear the will pump primacort, a heart medication.

I have prayed for Joe & all your family at this post.
May ALL of God's good grace flood over your Spirit.
In Jesus Name
AMEN.

Wayne,
Thanks for the update. Continued prayers for you and your family.
Tell Joe his name is constantly being brought before the Lord.

Joe is in surgery now having the defib put in. They will try to discharge him tomorrow with the I.V. Pump. The Drs say they really don't think this will work, but they want to try this before they go straight to the LVAD. They said if it doesn't work, he will slowly start having fluid buildup and weakness, and would be able to set up the LVAD.

Thanks to all of you for such concern and prayers.
Wayne

Thanks for the update, Wayne. I said a prayer for Joe last night before bed and another this morning.

Out of surgery, everything went well and back in room. Dr still saying don't know if it will work, but that he had made such good progress that they are hoping he may be the lucky one. We need to find him a cardiologist and cardio rehab in Brownwood. Now the more mundane things of paperwork, forms, etc. We are so delighted to be able to even have that problem! To give all an idea of the severity, the letter from the Dr to his school says "Joe suffered an acute decompensated heart failure resulting in severe kidney and liver failure and intubation onto a ventilator...."

He is still on the heart transplant list in case this fails and they must resort to that, so they don't have to start over.

We also must deal with Social Security and seek to get him into SSI as there would be no insurance after next year otherwise for him and this would provide him Medicaid. Any blood outflow below 20% is considered disabled, he is at 5%. He does not like the thought of being declared disabled, and feels like this will make him a "welfare person." As I told him, welfare of any kind is fine for those like him who really need it. That's what it's there for.

Wayne,
I'm glad the surgery went well and Joe is recovering quickly. I understand how a young man can feel down after the ordeal that he has been through, especially when doctors begin throwing around words such as "disabled". Two weeks ago, his kidneys and liver were shut down, his heart was pumping 3% on a good day, and he had a 30% chance of survival with the most optimistic option being an LVAD.
Today, his liver and kidneys are back doing their thing, his heart capacity has almost doubled, and the most pessimistic option is an LVAD. I know the view from a hospital bed is not very inspiring, but he's come a long way in two weeks and I have no doubt that the next 2 weeks will reveal more improvement.

Tell him to keep fighting and we'll keep praying. This arrangement seems to be working well.