Doing Well

Hi Everyone....as you can see, I've managed to figure out how to use my son's laptop, AND....we now have internet access! That's a HUGE praise, all in itself!!!

We did experience a big disappointment yesterday, along with a lot of other emotions, but coming through it all, we realize it was the right decision. Long story short....Mike was in no condition for general anesthesia. Amber did a good job in explaining most of what occurred, but the long and short of it, there ended up being six reasons Mike's heart wasn't in shape to undergo surgery. (Chronic Heart Failure, Tachycardia, Cardiomyopathy, Low Functional Capacity, CAD, and an abnormal EKG) We were just blessed to end up being screened by an anethesiologist who also happened to be a professor of Cardiology. Once he began reviewing records from a Cardiologist in AR, he realized that Mike hadn't been receiving proper treatment for a condition he had first experienced last September/October in 2007. In his opinion, Mike was only receiving a 1/3 of the treatment necessary, excluding a Beta-blocker or Digitalis. Mike had only been receiving the diuretic, to reduce the fluid around his heart. Therefore, his heart was working too hard beating, escalating his heart rate at a resting stage of 109-120 beats per minute, when it's recommended for Mike to be around 80 beats per minute. It explained why Mike's blood pressure was always normal in one arm, and very, very low in the other arm, and why we had such a disaster at Baptist the end of July. We were frankly told, Mike had been experiencing Heart Failure then, when we were told he had Re-expansive Pulmonary Edema. It's a little scary on this side of things, seeing how close we were to disaster. Even then, God was protecting us, and prayers were answered.

Just a little history lesson on the drugs Mike is now on....
The Beta Blockers block beta-receptors in the heart that respond to catecholamines. Catecholamines can cause the heart to work harder, increase blood pressure and increase the heart to beat faster.
Digitalis increases the strength of the heart's contraction by decreasing the workload of the heart and slowing certain types of irregular heartbeats.
Diuretics decrease the amount of fluid in the body.

First thought was there was permanent damage probably done to Mike's heart, but after being seen by another cardiologist, if there is damage, it might be minimal and reversible. They still need to run a couple of more tests Tuesday to determine if their thoughts are correct. Mike began the new drugs last evening and the cardiologist told Mike he would begin feeling much better by Tuesday...that these drugs are likely going to make a huge difference in Mike's quality of life. All along Mike thought he was just weak, out of breath all the time, and tired, because of the chemotherapy, when it could have been his heart all along. SO.....after saying all of that..........Mike and I are just praising God for his constant care! He placed the right people in our path to help us.

We have moved to another location in Houston, placing us near MD Anderson incase the hurricane causes trouble here. It still may cancel Tuesday and Wednesday's testing and appointments, but we're where we need to be, to get Mike any help he might need. We really don't know when we'll be able to finish up here to head home....but the big picture is for everyone at MD Anderson to keep us on track to have the surgery as soon as possible. That time frame is about 2 weeks.

Prayer requests: Just for Mike to begin feeling better on these new medications. That we can stay infection free for another two weeks with his outside drains. That Tuesday's test results don't show any huge damage to his heart, and if so, that doctors can resolve the problems, so that surgery can take place as quickly as possible. That we'll be protected from any weather situations in Houston and that we might be able to come home before surgery is rescheduled.

Thanks so much for continuing to pray for us and for the doctors we're involved with. Thank you also for praying for God's protection over our family back home. The pictures are of MD Anderson, the skybridge connecting the hotel and the Cancer Center, and the south-eastern view of Houston (towards the hurricane) from our room. :)