55 Days in Dallas

Well, here we are. We’re up to 55 days in Dallas...and counting. On the one hand, 55 days away from home seems like forever. On the other, if you would have asked me six months ago to predict when we would be on the other side of transplant surgery and starting recovery, I probably would have picked next summer at the earliest. And if you would have given me a choice last summer, I’m not sure which timeline I would have preferred.

Just a few weeks ago we were starting the process of searching for a living liver donor. And we were humbled by how many people expressed a willingness to be considered and evaluated. In a matter of days we went from thinking about the logistics of all that to being in an ICU with Becky fighting for her life while the medical team at UT Southwestern worked to find a compatible deceased liver and kidney donor. We started out by making a simple day trip to Dallas to find out if the team here thought Becky was even a candidate for a multi-week evaluation aimed at determining if she would qualify to be a transplant recipient. After only a few minutes in the clinic, Becky was sent directly to the Emergency Department to fast-track an evaluation, and she ended up in the ICU connected to continuous dialysis a few days later. My head is still spinning at how fast that all happened - not to mention all doctor and ER visits from the previous four months.

In any case, rather than reading my diary or memoirs or whatever else this post is threatening to become, you’re probably looking for an update on how Becky’s doing.

Compared to where we were a month ago or even a week ago when Becky went back to the ICU for a short farewell tour, it feels like we’re in a much better place. Some highlights of the last week:

• Becky has restarted physical therapy and took a short walk around the room today.
• We got to see two of our grandkids yesterday for the first time in 55+ days. After physical therapy yesterday, Becky hung out in a wheelchair for a couple hours and we met the kids in the lobby area.
• Wheels have started moving to get Becky to the rehab facility. There are a few medical things that need to happen including removal of a stint that was placed with the new kidney, but those conversations have at least started at this point.
• Most of Becky’s delirium seems to have been resolved. The combination of getting her body healthier, getting out of ICU, and making some adjustments to some of her meds has made a huge difference.

She’s not completely out of the woods yet. There are some things we’re still working on:

• Her heart rate is still a little elevated. Fortunately, not enough to send her back to ICU, but probably too high to start rehab.
• Her lung capacity is still pretty limited. The flow itself seems OK as she doesn’t generally need oxygen during the day although she has been getting a small amount overnight. She just tires easily because her lungs are fully expanding.
• Becky needs a lot of help standing up from the bed or chair. Some days are better than others, but she can’t stand up on her own yet. I suspect that will also need to improve before getting to rehab.
• Her blood pressure is a little high. On the plus side, that means the liver is working and in that respect her body is returning to her previous normal where she was on lisinopril for chronic high blood pressure. Some part of it may be a side effect of her medications. In any case, the docs are keeping an eye on it.
• Becky needs to find her appetite so she can get rid of the feeding tube. I think that would help the rest of her system in several ways.

All in all, it’s been a pretty decent week. It’s a little unfortunate that forward progress is slowing a little due to the weekend and holiday. In my opinion, in a lot of ways being bored in the hospital is worse than having a lot going on.

Although the pace is a little slower and the urgency a little lower, prayers are still much appreciated as we prepare for a long road of rehab to get to a full recovery.