More fun and games

Hi everyone:

Well, as many of you by now have heard, Patty is back in the University of Chicago Hospital. Over the past couple of days, Patty has been struggling with headaches and nausea. Yesterday, when her blood pressure dropped, we worried enough to call Patty's cardiologist at Edward. Apparently, a drop in blood pressure is often a sign that cardiac output is decreasing, and, therefore, heart failure is progressing. As a precaution, we were encouraged to go to U of C Hospital so that Patty could be evaluated. Originally, after checking Patty's vitals and doing some preliminary blood work, doctors suggested that perhaps Patty could come home. Upon further reflection, however, Dr. Fedson asked that Patty stay for a couple of days. The goal during this period will be to expedite all pre-transplant testing, formally list Patty for transplant consideration, and start her chemotherapy to (hopefully) knock back her antibodies.

Patty has been in remarkably good spirits, in spite of her continued travails. She enjoyed visits today from Sue, Peter, Neil, Joe and Kathleen -- feel free to visit if you're in (or have a chance to come to) the neighborhood. Patrick, Kelly and Connor are visiting with their cousins at Patty's sister MaryBeth's home. Many others have called. Kevin and his (and now our) friend Dennis worked very hard behind the scenes to ensure Patty secured a private room -- thanks very much.

Patty had a CT scan today, to rule out any possibility that her headaches could be from a different cause than a side effect of medication. We haven't heard results, but we're not concerned. We met yet another new cardiologist today. Dr. Anderson explained to Patty that they want to cover all the bases in making sure her future transplant is successful. He used what I thought was a thought-provoking metaphor. He said, "You've had to face tigers to get where you are today, and you know of many of the tigers you'll have to face in the near future. So, the last thing we want to do is to accidentally pass a tiger on the path, and have it bite us later on." (Of course, it turns out that the Tigers were trampled today, and with the Sox again handing the Cards their a**, the Sox are within one game of first place.)

Thank you again for all of your kind thoughts, words and gestures. I've learned from all of this that if anyone can come through this with flying colors, Patty is the one...and I live for this belief.

Love,
Brian