Patrick called me yesterday after his appointment and said, “I’ve got bad news, worse news, and maybe some good news. Which one do you want first?” I told him none of it. He thought I was joking and told me anyway. The bad news was that the Tikosyn didn’t work as well as the cardiologist had hoped, and that the VT ablasion was back on the table. This time around Dr. Shah was recommending Patrick get it done. The worse news (according to Patrick) was that Dr. Shah was recommending he skip all Alaska heart centers and get the ablation done at the University of Washington in Seattle. The last thing Patrick wants to do is go to Seattle for anything. He doesn’t want to leave his family. But the good news, the “silver lining,” is that if he gets the ablation done at U-Dub (I heard a nurse call it that on the phone and thought it was funny), and if the ablation doesn’t work (which I’m assuming they will know right away), the University will “take responsibility” for him and get him on the transplant list. They will essentially just keep him there and do what needs to be done. First there is a new medication to try, which the cardiologist is calling a back-up med for the Tikosyn. If it works we will hold off on the procedure and continue working on getting the transplant packet. But if it doesn’t decrease the amount of VTs Patrick’s heart is having after two weeks, Dr. Shah says Patrick won’t last five years without a successful ablation procedure. A successful ablation doesn't take the heart transplant off the table. It just means the transplant would be postponed. Dr. Shah is confidant with the ablation and eventual heart transplant (maybe around age 60) that Patrick could see 80 years old because the rest of his body is so healthy. The doctor said he knows the Seattle doctors and wants to send Patrick there. He was disappointed the Tikosyn didn’t work as well as he had hoped. But there are other options - just ones we hadn’t anticipated pursuing. He told us once that he didn’t want to use ablation on Patrick because the risk of stroke and death was too high due to the multiple spots on Patrick's heart needing the procedure. But yesterday he said there is greater risk of death with a heart transplant. The difference is that the payoff with a transplant is miles above that of VT ablation. Dr. Shah does not sugar coat. We like that. We have about four weeks - two weeks to use the new medication and if it doesn’t work, two more weeks to get an appointment set up in Seattle and to make arrangements for that eventuality. This is where we are now in this journey. It’s scary but we’re doing this together - that whole “til death do you part” thing. We take it very seriously. When you’re given the opportunity to live with your best friend every days, it's not something you should take for granted. Thank you for your continued prayers and positive thoughts!
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