“Holy crap. The heart transplant people just called.”
I was still in bed this morning when Patrick called me to tell me this.
His turn-and-burn appointment in Seattle yesterday yielded few revelations that were valuable to us. It was a short face-to-face visit with the heart failure specialist, a simple two month follow-up from his last visit in May.
(And by the way, he is definitely a husband who should not be left to his own devices when it comes to arranging travel. Depart Fairbanks at 2am and back by 9:30pm? Talk about turn-and-burn. Are you kidding me?)
So as Patrick said this morning after telling me about the phone call, “Dr. Mahr must have poked the bear.”
The woman on the phone, whose actual position or title is unknown to me, told him that he should have gone to see the GI specialist a long time ago. A forty or fifty pound weight loss in several short months is especially concerning when it comes to someone who is in such failing health.
So that was her first order of business - arranging the referral to the GI specialist. They did already call back and said they are so booked that they will call him in a couple weeks to schedule an appointment. We don’t have any idea when the actual appointment will happen.
In the meantime he will have some sort of contact with someone about food choices, which foods are best for him to eat, and which foods he should avoid.
Third, she told him all they need to do to get the ball rolling on the screening process is financial clearance for the transplant itself. Patrick and I don’t foresee any roadblocks where that is concerned.
So, do we know when he will go to Seattle next? No. Do we know when he will be on the list? No. Do we know when he will be seeing the GI? No.
But we are hopeful. Nervous, scared, and intimidated by what’s to come, but so very hopeful.
P.S. He had another heart event this morning that certainly felt like a v-tach, but that according to Porter Heart was not in fact a v-tach. But that is neither here nor there. As long as Dr. Mahr says Patrick is ready for the transplant, we will focus our minds and heart in that direction.
P.P.S. I chose this photo because it represents Patrick's carefully controlled chaos - severe heart failure; constant stomach pain and illness; awful weight loss and too-big clothes... And yet he still works every day, still "saves the world" whenever he can, and still devotes his life to ensuring the kids and I are happy, loved, and provided for. He is an enigma, who apparently can't put his glasses on correctly...