At the risk of disability or death...(well, not really)

Hi everyone:

Catchy title, huh? Patty had a bit of a health scare yesterday. She had been feeling poorly for three days running, and a little worse each day, so, at her doctors' suggestion, we made a visit to the ER last night. Patty has been experiencing strong headaches, dizziness, fever, coughing, sore muscles and shortness of breath. Given the worries these days about swine flu, and the extra concern if a cardiac patient comes down with such an illness, we agreed with doctors to be better safe than sorry and went to have her checked out.

Once results came back from bloodwork, doctors determined Patty had been suffering from a kidney infection. After a round of IV antibiotics, she was already feeling much better. Her doctor suggested that she stay overnight for observation, but Patty pushed back, and ultimately signed out against medical advice (AMA). Normally, she wouldn't challenge doctors' advice, but his reasoning for keeping her in the hospital was her low blood pressure. We explained that what he was calling "low" was in fact entirely normal for Patty, who rarely has readings above 95/60. So, with his admonition that Patty was gambling with "permanent disability or death", she finally made it home to our bed around two in the morning. She's feeling much better today, although she's still a bit weak from three days of fever. I took the picture just a minute ago...see? Alive and well.

All in all, Patty continues to do great. She's been exercising, eating better, and has trimmed off more than 25 pounds. She's been trying to get fit so that she will recover more quickly from a procedure she's hoping to have this summer. As the procedure is currently part of a trial, Patty has a 50/50 chance of being in the group that has the operation. Essentially, this involves going in between the ribs with a claw-like apparatus and surrounding the heart with a mesh bag that should prevent further remodeling (growth) of her heart. If the heart doesn't remodel, then the odds of Patty returning to the transplant list will be reduced. Even if Patty doesn't have the procedure as part of the trial, she will likely be a candidate when approvals for the surgery come through, perhaps even later this summer.

Aside from the odd exercise-related injury or this latest infection, Patty seems more healthy than she was before she had her heart attack. She has worked full-time for the entire school year, and hasn't seemed the worse for wear. We keep hoping this streak of good fortune will continue. At the same time, we keep our fingers crossed that Patty's sister Kathleen will also defy the odds and come through her battle with cancer stronger than ever.

Thanks for checking in. We'll let you know if anything changes.

Love,
Brian

One of the kids must have stepped on a crack

Hi everyone:

This blog has been quiet for some time, which is a good thing, because Patty is still going strong on the heart front. Her last pacemaker/ICD check, this past week, showed that aside from one recent minor incident (her heart skipped five beats...apparently no biggie), her heart has been performing fine. Her pacemaker still paces her heart 80% of the time, at a minimum rate of 70; without it, her heart rate drops to 50. A low resting heart rate is great for a superathlete...but for Patty this means she'd have trouble functioning.

There is a bit of a problem with Patty's health, though. She has been getting back into shape, and has so far lost about 15 pounds. That's not the problem...what is a problem is that she fell while rollerblading the other day and fractured one of the thoracic vertabrae in her back (and put a pretty good bruising on her tailbone). She's in some discomfort but, with her doctor's blessing, is still able to exercise at a moderate rate. Her goal is to (a) get back into some smaller clothes she loves, and (b) get into good shape before a procedure she may have this summer, if she's one of the 50% randomly chosen for a study. More on this later...

Aside from life in an economy that sucks, all else is pretty well for our family. We have two kids attending college this fall (Devin studying video game design in Toronto, PJ attending the Art Institute of Chicago), and all the others of our brood are chugging along. That's it for now...more if it arises...

Love,
Brian

Patty's Doing Great...Kathleen is Struggling

Hi Everyone:

I suspect few people visit this blog anymore, and that's probably a very good thing. Patty continues to do very well, with no symptoms other than occasional fatigue. She is working full-time, and seems to be handling the workload exceptionally well.

Patty's sister Kathleen is not faring so well these days. Her breast cancer has metastisized to her spine. You can read more about Kathleen's situation at http://thoughtsforkathleen.blogspot.com.

Please keep Kathleen in your thoughts and prayers. And please keep your fingers crossed that Patty continues to do as well as she has over the past year.

Love,
Brian

A strong summer

Hi everyone:

Just thought I'd pop in for a minute to let everyone (or at least everyone who visits anymore) know that Patty continues to thrive, so much so that I was able to make a trip to Canada, without Patty, to pick up the boys for the summer. A year ago, I wouldn't have even considered being away for more than a day. She looks great, and she feels great.

Aside from an occasional mild arrhythmia, Patty shows almost no symptoms of heart failure anymore. She even complains now about having to take so many meds, although she knows that this is a lifetime deal for her. She's being cautious about time in the heat and humidity.

As mentioned, Devin and Colin are in town for an extended visit. Our plan is for Patty and I to drive them back (about 10 hours each way) in mid-August. PJ is working at Oberweis, and is participating in summer speech activities. Kelly and Connor are also doing great, and mostly just having fun.

That's the latest and greatest. Please feel free to drop a comment; I make sure that Patty knows when people have written.

Love,
Brian

P.S. If you're on Facebook, please add me/us as a friend. I'll be posting photos, including some of our patient, from time to time this summer.

Swell on wheels

Hi everyone:

As you can tell from this relatively recent photo, our patient (can I really even call her that, now?) continues to thrive, enough so that she's been able to incorporate light exercise into many of her days. Her hope is to advance her conditioning to the point she'll be able to inline skate more regularly. She's being cautious, but surprisingly strong.

Patty is handling the combined demands of work, home and health with remarkable success, and with very little of the fatigue or illness that plagued so many of her past days. Her medical appointments are now spaced months apart, and she rarely experiences any symptoms. The only obvious clue to her condition is the still-extensive range of medicines she takes each day. And, among the best of the good news, she has not been hospitalized since November, 2006. We still don't understand how this has all happened, medically, but we're not really complaining; we're just hoping this strong streak continues.

All of the children are doing well. PJ and Kelly just finished their school's production of Les Miserables, which was just amazing. My parents visited to take in the show, and they too were impressed. Devin spends part of his week at home and part 30 miles away at college, where he's doing well in a culinary arts program. Colin and Connor are both enjoying jumps in their academic performance, with Connor flirting with straight As. We're very proud of our brood.

As always, we're grateful to hear that people check in here from time to time. I will endeavor to provide updates on an occasional basis, and will of course pick up the pace if there's ever more to report...let's hope not.

Love,

Brian

Catching up with former students

Hi Everyone:

Over the weekend, Patty had visits from two former students -- Emily (on Friday) and Roxie (Saturday.) We've had a handful of visits from Emily over the past year, but had not seen Roxie since she did Patty's nails on the night before our wedding (six years ago.) Patty really likes to see that the kids are doing well as adults, and I think she's thrilled to know that she played a part in shaping their lives.

Patty plants one on Emily

Patty, Roxie & Brian

On Friday, Patty escorted a group of students on a field trip to the Art Institute of Chicago. She continues to do very well, and has now added more frequent exercise to her weekly routines. We're pretty impressed at how she seems to get stronger and stronger.

Patty & a Pollock

Love,

Brian

Patty's still going strong

Hi everyone:

As I've mentioned in previous posts, no news is good news as far as Patty is concerned -- ergo, I've had nothing significant to report for some time. Patty continues to do incredibly well. In fact, she has even been able to increase her beta blocker and ACE inhibitor dosages to levels desirable for heart failure patients; you may recall that previously this was a problem because of Patty's unusually low blood pressure.

Patty's last echocardiogram and ICD interrogation were both very positive (although Patty's ejection fraction remains at around 25%.) Patty remains the mystery patient, the miracle case, the against-all-odds poster girl.

Last night, Patty modeled in a fashion show for Edward Heart Hospital, along with Dr. Costanzo (her cardiologist) and a number of other patients who can share compelling heart stories. Patty was a natural, and she looked amazing.

Patty continues to teach part-time, and hopes to return at a full-time level for the start of the next school year. The kids are doing great. All is well with us, knock on wood. If anything changes, and perhaps even if nothing changes, I'll try to write again soon.

Love,

Brian

Just a quick note

Hi everyone:

Just thought I should poke in for a moment to let everyone (or at least everyone who still visits) know that Patty is still going strong. She very much enjoyed a much-needed break from work, and had a wonderful holiday with our kids. Her medical reports continue to be incredibly positive. Wow...it's still hard to believe.

I'll try to post some recent photos soon. Happy New Year, everyone.

Love,
Brian

A bit short of breath today

Hi everyone:

Patty has had some minor struggles with her breathing today, and is feeling a bit run down. Of course, in this season of colds, the flu and such, this could mean nothing at all, but it does inspire a degree of anxiety. I've grown quite accustomed to a life with Patty that really doesn't include hospitals, home health nurses and the like anymore; I'm hoping we'll go a good long time before Patty again has any need for such interventions.

We have been slowly preparing our home for the holidays. Our inside lights and decorations are finished, and I've been gradually working through the outdoor lights. We are looking forward to the arrival of Devin and Colin on December 26; Devin will return to Canada on Dec 31, and Colin will stick around for another week.

That's about it for now; please keep your fingers crossed that our patient has a symptom-free holiday season.

Love,
Brian

Still going strong

Hi everyone:

Well, it's been nearly a month since I last posted an entry. Patty is still doing well. On Saturday night, she had a pretty strong arrhythmia -- her first in weeks -- which we both found a bit unsettling, in large part because such symptoms have truly become anomalies. Other than this one blip, Patty has enjoyed a nearly spotless record of good health for many weeks. She still needs her afternoon nap most days, but otherwise has energy levels similar to what she enjoyed before she became sick. Doctor visits usually include some head-shaking on Dr. Costanzo's part; she still finds it hard to believe that Patty has experienced so complete a turnaround. We're keeping our fingers crossed that this positive turn will last for years. Again, thanks to all for your prayers, for your kindness and generosity and for your continued good wishes.

Love,
Brian

Three years

Hi everyone:

Thursday of this week (November 8) represents the three-year anniversary of Patty's heart attack. You may recall that she had the attack on the first day of the new term, before she had a chance to greet a single student. Needless to say, even the passage of time has not greatly diminished the freshness of those memories. In many ways, though, we've moved forward, particularly with Patty doing so well of late. Although the sound of a siren still fills me with dread, I'm learning to resist the urge to call the school each time I hear the sound in the distance. For her part, Patty has promised not to finish any photocopying if she has similar symptoms in the future. The kids are doing just fine; even Connor, our resident worrywort, rarely has problems settling at night.

Yesterday, Patty started a new term, and I was of course nervous, even though logic would suggest I had no good reason to worry more about yesterday than about any other day. She returned home in one piece, and in pretty good spirits, although the start of a new term almost always has its associated frustrations.

We are still amazed at this gradual but steady transformation within Patty--from a person who could barely walk a block without gasping for air to a more-or-less normal person again. Based on what we've read, heart failure patients sometimes stabilize; they don't typically improve, and certainly not so dramatically. I'm not complaining...just knocking on wood a tremendous amount.

Love,
Brian

Checking in

Hi everyone:

Patty continues to impress with her health rebound. We visited Midwest Heart today, and they were able to again titrate Patty's dosage for her ACE inhibitor and beta blocker, and are shortening the timeframes between the increases. Provided Patty continues to tolerate these bumps in dosage, they will keep increasing the amounts until she is in a desired range. With the beta blocker in particular, Patty is a long way from the ideal.

The photo to the left was one of many I took of Patty during a recent field trip to Silver Springs State Park. I was so pleased to see Patty in action again, and I know that she feels most complete when she is teaching. She has wished aloud that she could teach full-time again, but I'm pleased that she is phasing back into these demands...no sense tempting fate. Having said this, if her health continues to stand up, she should be able to take on a full schedule next school year.

All things considered, our family is seeing 2007 as a pretty good year...knock on wood.

Love,
Brian

P.S. Please feel free to share comments, even if the postings here aren't coming fast and furious...Patty still gets excited every time she notices there's a comment.

Overeaters Not-So-Anonymous

Hi everyone:

Tonight, Patty and I celebrated the wonderful news about her improved condition by sharing a special bottle of wine Patty had purchased as a gift for me three years ago. We had been saving the wine for a very special occasion, and decided that there really aren't many circumstances that could be regarded as more special than what would seem to be a new lease on life. With no chemotherapy or other nasty drugs in her daily medicine regimen, Patty has gradually regained an appetite that had long been compromised. We ate a fairly substantial early dinner tonight, and then whipped up a potato/leek/thyme/gruyere cheese pizza about half an hour ago (trust me, you WANT this recipe.) Patty, who typically is a fairly light eater, scarfed back six good-sized slices without hesitation! All is well...

Love,
Brian

P.S. As I am reading this draft back to Patty, she will almost certainly be worrying that I'm making her sound like a pig. If this stays in, you'll know I was right...

Something that wasn't supposed to happen

Hi everyone:

Patty had a telephone conversation with Dr. Costanzo on Monday afternoon. Based on the results of the exercise stress test, the echocardiogram and Patty's latest visit to the doctor, Dr. Costanzo has taken Patty off the transplant list for the foreseeable future. In fact, the doctor is recommending no further action be taken at this time other than increasing certain medicines that should protect Patty's heart going forward. Patty has somehow moved from a near-critical case to a simple heart failure management patient. How's THAT for an update?

Dr. Costanzo said that she had never seen a situation like Patty's before, where someone was so severely ill and then rebounded so completely. Almost all medical literature suggests that once heart failure begins, it typically gets worse and rarely gets better. The doctor won't even really guess why this has happened. Patty credits her mother, father, Ellen, Carrie and others for playing the role of guardian angels. I'm not sure what I believe, but I am very happy to hear some good news for my wonderful wife. We're realistic, of course -- Patty still suffers from fatigue, and she could have problems in the future -- but for now our patient is choosing to regard this as a miracle.

With this news, the infrequent postings may become even less frequent. I will pop in with a note from time to time, because I'm sure there will be other news to share along the way. I will certainly pick up the pace again if Patty's health slips at any point, but we're hoping that will never be the case. I cannot tell you how much it means to us that all of you have been checking in and pulling for Patty and our family. She is remarkable, and I again look forward to a long life with her.

Love,
Brian

One from the patient

Hi everyone:

This weekend is one filled with activities surrounding our high school's Homecoming. As we're the parents of a 14-year-old freshman (and a 16-year-old junior), we decided to immerse ourselves in Homecoming activities -- we did so in part because I have obligations to the school, and in part because we're being mother hens.

Tonight we all attended the football games, because I was hosting a face painting booth at which Patrick and several other NAHS students were working. PJ worked like a dog the whole time, and displayed a level of maturity that both surprised me and made me beam with pride. It was a successful evening -- we made a surprising amount of money, especially considering we were charging two dollars per face.

Tomorrow's festivities include the Homecoming Dance, which both Brian and I are chaperoning, and PJ and Kelly are attending. The preparation for said dance will likely be as exhausting as the evening.

I've been feeling just great these days, which is fortunate, because these activities are exhausting to everyone; I'm surprising myself and others by how well I am faring.

That's all for now; thanks for continuing to read this blog. Sorry this is such a boring entry to the collection; however, I've come to believe that BORING = GOOD, at least as the content of this blog is concerned.

Love,

Patty

PJ at work (the first of many customers)

Mr. Jumbohead

Three faces of...

A few funny heartbeats, more meds, etc.

Hi everyone:

Patty met with a nurse practitioner at Midwest Health (Edward Hospital) this afternoon. I had mentioned previously that Dr. Costanzo was attempting to increase Patty's dosage of both beta blockers and ACE inhibitors; this appointment was a check-in to evaluate whether further increases were possible. Last time, Patty's ACE inhibitor (lisinopril) dose was upped; this time, she's been asked to take a larger dose of her beta blocker (metoprolol). We will of course continue to monitor her blood pressure, but so far, so good.

One interesting thing (well, interesting to me, anyway) is that Patty has experienced a handful of minor arrhythmias over the past few days, after a fairly long stretch without anything that felt irregular. Unless I'm mistaken, increasing an ACE inhibitor or beta blocker dose will typically reduce the number of arrhythmias. Interesting...not necesarily meaningful, but interesting...

Patty and I are planning to chaperone the first-ever OEHS Homecoming Dance this Saturday, much to the dismay of our daughter, who finds the prospect "embarrassing." Patty noticed last night that she has plans for Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, in addition to her workday. I suspect that Sunday will be a major decompression day. Patty has more endurance than in the past, but she still has her limits, so we'll just have to see how things go.

Only about five months now until Spring Training...Go Sox (sigh).

Love,
Brian

Update? Well...no...not really

Hi everyone:

I just wanted to assure everyone that if I'm going for long stretches without writing, chances are that everything is just fine. Whenever there is anything meaningful to report, I'll do everything in my power to provide updates here. We have not yet heard back from Dr. Costanzo about the stress test results, so we still don't have an official position about whether or not Patty will remain on the transplant list.

As usual, I have little to report. The most exciting thing that has happened around here is that I jokingly said I was going to flick a piece of popcorn off my hand into Connor's mouth about six feet away -- and then fired it directly onto his tongue. PJ, who had a perfect view of the action, almost fell off his chair.

We have been homebodies most nights; we recently saw The Wind that Shakes the Barley (very good) and Bug (very bad). The kids are gone for the weekend with Steve, so we'll probably get caught up on some other films we've wanted to watch. There, now you're completely up to date.

Love,
Brian

Again, little to report

Hi everyone:

As has been the case for some time now, it seems, there's little to report. Patty is busy, I'm busy, and the kids are busy. On the health front, Patty still seems to be holding her own quite well; she seems pale some days, and tired others, but that's to be expected. All in all, things are going pretty well right now for our patient. More as we hear it...

Love,
Brian

Blah, blah, blah...ahem...blah, blah

Hi everyone:

We exchanged emails with Dr. Costanzo yesterday. We enquired about the results from the stress test and echocardiogram; she replied to let us know she was at a conference and would get back to us on Thursday. So, for the time being, I guess no news is good news.

Patty continues to do well; fatigue seems to be the only recurring theme these days, and even that seems manageable. On a typical day, Patty leaves for work at 6:45 am and gets home just before noon. By 1:00pm most days, she dozes off on the sofa. Some days, she needs to go back to the school, so her nap is abbreviated to an hour; otherwise, she'll rest a little longer. Our evenings typically end now sometime between 9pm and 10pm, much to the amazement of our kids, who had been conditioned to consider us nighthawks.

On a good day, we sneak away from the kids for 2o minutes and go for a walk in the neighborhood; this photo is from Monday.

More soon...

Love,
Brian