Friday, August 31, 2007

Catching up...on the run

Hi everyone:

This week has been a hectic, crazy one across the board. Patty and the kids are back in school, and I have been working on a project. Patty has been finding the days tiring, and she has little in the tank when she gets home, but I think she's happy to be back at work nonetheless. Most of our evenings end much earlier than in days past; our opportunity to be nighthawks has now moved to the weekends.

On to health matters: Patty's heart seemed to be beating fast this morning, and she was shaky; this was disconcerting, but it seemed to pass quickly and without any ongoing problems. Other than that, the only health concern was a recurrence of the sore right foot -- a problem that was painful enough to keep Patty awake one night. Mostly, though, she appears to be doing pretty well.

Love,
Brian

Sunday, August 26, 2007

A new driver

Hi everyone:

We have been having a relatively uneventful weekend. School starts for the kids this coming Wednesday, and for Patty day one arrives tomorrow. I think she's excited; her plans for the coming weeks have been a frequent topic of conversation. I will of course worry about her incessantly, but she has promised to pace herself and ask for help when needed. I know that students and colleagues are happy to see her back at work. I hope she has a long, healthy stretch.

On the topic of worrying incessantly, PJ passed his driver's exam this weekend, and promptly went off on his first solo drive (as we held our breath.) So far, he has proven to be a pretty responsible driver. This, of course, does little to ease the cold terror.

That's all for now.

Love,
Brian

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

A medical update (of sorts)...at last

Hi everyone:

Patty is having a less-than-stellar day today; her stomach is upset and she is shaky. Her original plan was to attend a faculty event this evening, but the combination of her condition and the brutal heat are likely to keep her home.

We did finally get some response from Patty's doctors. They want to do an exercise stress test and a right heart catheterization to evaluate the condition of Patty's heart. The thinking is that if her heart seems strong enough to endure for some time without a transplant, they may be able to stop focusing on as-yet-unsuccessful attempts to reduce her panel reactive antibodies. Instead, if Patty later has a downturn, they may attempt an experimental procedure whereby they would transplant both a heart and a piece of the donor's liver; the thinking, I believe, is that they may be able to trick Patty's body into accepting an otherwise less-than-ideal organ. This all sounds a little scary, but there don't seem to be an abundance of other viable options. We are so fortunate that Patty seems to be doing much better than anyone expected.

Love,
Brian

Saturday, August 18, 2007

S-A-T-U-R...D-A-Y...Night!!

Hi everyone:

And tonight's trivia question is -- who performed the song with the lyrics from the subject line? If you got it immediately, you're getting on in years.

This is certain to sound like a broken record, but again I apologize for the stretches between blog entries. Patty's mind and energies have been focused on her part-time return to work (just two weeks away), and I have been working crazy hours trying to drum up new business; in fact, this writing is a quick break from developing marketing materials. My slump these days is akin to that of the White Sox; hopefully, we'll both have a strong finish to the year.

On the health front, there's not a lot to report. Patty is still tired much of the time, and continues to need her naps through the day. Tonight, she is experiencing some unpleasant cramping in her stomach. From time to time, her hands are shaky, and she experiences some dizziness if she moves too suddenly; otherwise, she's still mostly holding her own. We do worry about how well she'll fare when she goes back to work; I really hope that Patty can let herself fall back on others for support when needed.

We are both frustrated with the holding pattern Patty seems to be in; although we're grateful that she isn't obviously declining right now, we worry about a scenario in which she may need a heart immediately, when her antibodies remain a hurdle (one that nobody seems concerned about addressing anymore.) We both dream of a day in which health, financial and other issues can take a back seat to just getting the most from life.

Love,
Brian
P.S. The photo is actually from other night; Patty had laughed herself into tears at her witty retort to something I had said. I just love when Patty cracks up like this.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

A quick late note

Hi everyone:

I was mortified to find a typo in yesterday's post; of course, fixing it became a priority. Feel free to mock me any time you notice an error; I'll dwell on my failure for the rest of the day. Patty had a pretty good day today.

Love,
Brian

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Under the weather

Hi everyone:

Devin and Colin returned to Canada this morning; of course, we're a bit blue to see them leave. Kelly seems to be especially affected by the departure; she and her brothers from Canada have become pretty close. Kelly and Patty accompanied me this morning to take Devin and Colin to the airport.

Patty is feeling under the weather today, as she was for much of yesterday. She has been feeling nauseous and tired, and has experienced some minor swelling in her hands. She did, however, muster enough energy yesterday to visit the zoo. Such visits must necessarily be restricted in length because of Patty's stamina, but I know the kids are happier when our entire family is together. We took several photos of the kids goofing off at the zoo; they really all seemed like a bunch of happy little kids for those few hours.

As I write this, Patty is taking a nap (her second of the day -- see, I told you she was tired.) I am working on marketing for the business while also watching a huge pot of pasta sauce I've been working on. And that's our day so far.

Love,
Brian

From the zoo



Sunday, August 12, 2007

Another uninspiring update (sorry)

Hi everyone:

As has been the case with most of my updates, I don't have much to share. Patty continues to fare pretty well, all things considered. Her hands get a bit swollen from time to time, and her face also seemed puffy yesterday, but she hasn't had many overt symptoms of heart failure recently. When she worked at the school the other day, she experienced dizziness when she stood up quickly, but these are small matters compared to what we've seen in the past.

When Patty's ICD was interrogated the other day, the reports suggested that since the last time the unit was checked, she has had no situations in which the ICD was close to delivering a shock. Let's keep our fingers crossed that these good times last, because it doesn't seem we're any closer to getting a new heart for our patient. We don't even hear back from most of Patty's doctors anymore, even if we write to them directly.

We have been enjoying Devin's and Colin's visit, although the time seems to be slipping away very quickly; their return flight is on Tuesday morning. We would have liked to have done more as a family during their stay, but any activities for seven people get pretty expensive during tighter times. We did use some passes we had been given for Wizard World Chicago, a huge comics/anime convention held near the airport (Neil came in Patty's place), and we plan to go to Brookfield Zoo tomorrow. On other days, we make at least one foray over to our friends' pool, or play ladderball or catch in the yard. All in all, it's been a memorable visit for all of us. I just wish time could stand still for once.

Love,
Brian

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Making the most of our summer

Hi everyone:

My apologies (yet again) for not writing over the past couple of days. The boys have less than a week of visit left before returning to Canada, so I have been trying to juggle time with the five kids and the pursuit of client projects. With so little happening on the health front, the blog sometimes gets pushed aside. Please know that if anything important happens as concerns Patty's health, I will do my best to post it here promptly.

Speaking of health matters, Patty does have an interrogation of her ICD (defibrillator) scheduled for this afternoon; this doesn't usually yield anything surprising. Other than that, Patty has been doing well. She has had some inexplicable aching in the bones of her right foot, and some patichiae on her legs, but neither seems significant as regards her heart.

On Monday, our family visited the Museum of Science and Industry, and then the kids sat with Patty in a fast-food joint while I met with a couple of former colleagues about a small potential project (please keep your fingers crossed.) Since then, we've focused primarily on staying cool, with thanks to our friends who have been generous with access to their pool. Today, Patty, Devin, Patrick and Kelly are at the school getting Patty's classroom ready for the start of the fast-approaching school year.

From time to time, I have joked on the blog about Patty's neatness/cleaning habits. I think we've found the new prime example of this: on Sunday, when our family had finished lighting birthday candles and was singing Happy Birthday, Patty briefly walked away from the cake to rearrange a couple of towels and wipe a surface. We actually stopped singing for a moment to ask her just what she thought she was doing. Crazy...

More soon...

Love,
Brian

Colin & Brian plotting next steps at the museum


Birthday girl (seconds after the towel position was fixed...whew)

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Happy Birthday to Patty

Hi everyone:

Today is Patty's birthday. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to discuss specifics of her current age, but if you look back on the blog exactly one year, you'll see that on that date she had just turned 45. Our patient has been relaxing for much of the day; the humidity is so brutal that she wouldn't even think about heading outdoors.

We (me, Colin, Kelly & Connor) picked Devin up at the airport this afternoon. His flight was a mere 45 minutes late -- a much better outcome than Colin's 10-hour nightmare a few weeks ago. It is so nice having all seven of us together, even if the visit will only be brief. I am still the tallest person in our immediate family; I suspect this will be the last time I'll be able to make this claim.

Our plan is to have a nice dinner at home for Patty tonight, along with some birthday cake.

Late tomorrow afternoon, I have a meeting downtown (one that will hopefully lead to some work.) Patty and the kids are planning to come along, so that we can take in some family activity prior to the meeting.

That's it for now. I'll try to get some pictures of our patient scarfing down some chocolate cake.

Love,
Brian

Friday, August 03, 2007

An unsettling morning

Hi everyone:

Patty's early morning was a bit disconcerting; she was feeling profoundly nauseous when she awakened, and her heart was racing. An hour or so later, the symptoms had abated, and have not returned, so perhaps any worry is without merit. Often, we wonder if what she is feeling is an "under-the-weather" day like anyone can have, or if her symptoms are related to heart failure. Even when she's feeling well, which seems to be the norm rather than the exception most days (knock on wood), an unexpected sniffle or ache in the leg always gets our attention.

Patty has been a homebody today, as has been the case most days this past week. Between the oppressive heat and the excessive swarms of biting insects, we've found little incentive to venture out on walks lately. Given that Patty's swelling and breathlessness have both been at bay for a few days now, we have thought it better not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

The most exciting aspects of this coming weekend will be Devin's arrival and Patty's birthday, both of which will take place on Sunday.

Love,
Brian