An unexpected brief detour

I figured I would update everyone, since only those on Facebook were able to learn of my latest adventure. 

Short Version:  My illness turned to pneumonia.  Admitted to hospital for 5 days.  Discharged on oxygen.

Detailed version found below:

As I mentioned in my last blog, I was not admitted to Stanford on my appointment of February 9^th.  However, as the weekend progressed I was feeling short of breath and when I would take my oxygen saturation level it recorded as low as 75%.  It ranged from 78%-87%!  Usually I run 98%-100%, so I called the team early Monday morning & was directed by the cardiologist on staff to get down to Stanford and check in to the ER.  As soon as we arrived I was to call him and he was going to call the ER to let them know I was on my way. 

My oxygen level was at 87% when I called, but Dr. Haddad told me to know where my local emergency rooms were in route, and to go to the local ER if it continued to drop or if I felt I was having trouble getting air, and he'd have me transferred from that ER to Stanford.  He seemed very concerned and called me every hour during our drive to Stanford on Monday, February 13^th.

We arrived at Stanford just after 1:00 pm and the ER was packed.  I was grateful for my Hepa mask as I sensed the germs floating around the room ...yuck!  I was “triaged” rather quickly to a private area off the waiting area.  I was immediately put on oxygen and a plethora of blood was drawn.  Dr. Haddad and one of the Fellowes, whose name I cannot recall, came to see me in the ER and then left to go add more orders and  get me admitted to the hospital.  After some time, I was taken to a bed in the ER.  This bed/gurney was in the middle between 2 other patients whose areas were curtained off.  Almost immediately I was whisked away for a chest x-ray.  Upon completion of the chest x-ray, another technician rushed me away for a chest CT. 

When I returned to my ER bed, I’d been moved to another area that was in the corner with a wall on one side, and a curtain to my right blocking me from the patient in the other bed, so a bit more secluded.  The chest x-ray results were back and it confirmed I had pneumonia.  As the afternoon/evening went on waiting for a room, it was evident that I’d be spending the night in the ER when my nurse ordered and had delivered a hospital bed to stay in rather than the gurney style bed customary to the ER.  Poor Scott was cramped in a chair and he figured he’d go down to sleep in the Atrium area of the hospital where he and the rest of my family had spent the night of my transplant.  

But lo and behold, my nurse came to tell me I had a room.  Scott asked if it was a private room and she said, “No.  Oh wait…you have to be in isolation.  I need to call them back.”  And off she went, so we figured, no room for the night.   But about 9:00 PM, back she came saying I had a room and not long after she and another nurse pushed me down the halls to a private room for the night.  Scott was able to sleep in the room with me (albeit on two hospital chairs slid together-as the cots were all taken by then). 

I woke up the next morning on February 14^th with Scott wishing me a Happy Birthday and Happy Valentine’s Day.  Around lunch time he came back from an errand with a balloon, a stuffed frog holding candy followed by my nurse. She was carrying a birthday cake and was followed by a chorus of other nurses singing the Happy Birthday song to me!  Of all the hospital stays I’ve had in my 44 years, this was the first-time I was in the hospital on my birthday.

Scott and I decided it was best for him to go home and be with the kids and get some work done.  He was swamped (no pun intended) with work because of the rain.  My sister flew out from Chicago on Wednesday to hang out with me & Scott went home.  It was delightful to spend time with my sister, though we wished it had been for more exciting adventures!

It was officially determined via my blood cultures that I had the Corona Virus-which sounds so much cooler but basically means I had the common cold.  I also had bacterial pneumonia and for that alone i was on oxygen 24/7 while in the hospital.  Each morning during rounds, Dr. Haddad would tell me how pleased he was with my body’s response to the IV antibiotics I was receiving.  My goal each day was to try and decrease my oxygen use, and switch to oral antibiotics.

During this hospital visit, I was able to chat with the social worker about my thank you letter I’d been wanting to write to my donor family.  During our conversation, I mentioned wanting to know the gender of my donor.  She told me she’d see what she could do.  Later that day I got confirmation of my gut feeling that my donor was a 16 year old girl. ☹

During Friday morning rounds, Dr. Haddad came by and again reiterated how impressed the team was with my response to treatment.  I was to have some “oxygen tests” to see if my saturation level could remain at 92 or above with no oxygen at rest and activity.  Activity was basically walking around the nurse’s station for as long as I could handle. 

At this point, Dr. Haddad sat down and explained to me how Dr. Hunt had strongly advocated for me to get onto the heart transplant wait list.  He admitted that he was one of the doctors that had his reservations about the re-transplant due to my complex anatomy.  He then acknowledged how impressed he and the rest of the team were with my progress post-transplant and especially for a 2^nd heart transplant, despite the setbacks of Listeria early on and now the pneumonia.  They all felt I was doing extremely well.  He cautioned me to be extra diligent to stay away from sick people and to let the team know immediately if I had any type of respiratory issues.

Later that day during my walk around the unit without oxygen, I dropped to 81% saturation and facilitated between 90-94 at rest.  So basically, I failed my tests, which meant I’d be discharged on oxygen. Another first!

On Saturday morning, Dr. Kush came by for rounds and told me I’d be discharged today!  A couple days earlier than we expected.  Lisa went into action to get us a hotel room for the night as she didn’t fly home to Chicago until Sunday afternoon.  Scott wasn’t planning on coming back until Sunday after church.  Of course, discharge always takes some time, and in the meantime my case worker came by to set me up with the home oxygen company.  Lisa and I had one last lunch at the hospital and began to watch one last movie, not knowing when the official discharge time would come. 

During our movie, I received a call from the pharmacy that my antibiotics were ready for pickup but we had less than an hour to get them before they closed for the day. So Lisa grabbed a nearby UBER driver and made her way to pick up my antibiotics. No, the pharmacy is not in the hospital.  That would have been too convenient.

 While she was gone, the oxygen company representative came by with my “travel bottles” of oxygen.  I then explained to him that we’d be staying in a hotel tonight and travelling home tomorrow.  He was so accommodating.  He said he’d deliver a unit to use at the hotel once we checked in and knew our room number. And then an hour before we were to check out, to call him and he’d pick up the unit.

Just after 4:00 I was officially discharged and Lisa grabbed another nearby UBER driver who took us to our hotel near the airport.  We were his 4^th UBER customer ever and luckily my oxygen bottles didn’t scare him away! He said he’d joined UBER to help his Dad out who’d also recently joined UBER, but didn’t know how to navigate the maps.  Lisa told him my story and we conversed most of the way to the hotel.  Lisa and I were laughing and joking for most of the 25-30 minute ride.  Andre-our UBER driver, told us he was really encouraged by our outlook on life and the fact that here I was discharged from the hospital with pneumonia on oxygen, where most people would be depressed or sad, and we are laughing and having a good time.  He dropped us off at the hotel with the departing words to “never stop laughing!”.

Lisa and I spent our last night together in a nice hotel room with room service.  We were both able to get a nice quiet night’s sleep (mostly) and decent hot showers to boot before being reunited with our family’s. 

Scott and Leah arrived Sunday to pick me up.  Nolan was invited with friends to attend Disney on Ice.  Leah was invited too, but I guess Aunt Lisa ranked higher 😊.

We departed the hotel at the same time Lisa caught her shuttle to the airport.  

The drive home was uneventful and I spent the next few days resting and getting accustomed to being home on oxygen.  Over the last 2 weeks, I’ve needed it less and less as my oxygen levels have increased.  I have a follow up appointment on March 6^th at Stanford and they will reassess my need for oxygen then. 

I’m grateful for Chris & Ren & Lisa who stepped up to help once again for another unexpected hospitalization.  I’m grateful to Dr. Haddad and his team for not wasting anymore time jumping on the pneumonia aggressively.  Thanks also to all my caregivers in the hospital & at home.   I’m grateful for God’s gentle reminder that I’m still in a precarious state right now and that my immune system is still that of a “newly” transplanted person (even though I sometimes feel like the long-time heart transplant recipient).  And for His grace and mercy to equip my body to be able to get through the challenges earlier than expected.  I’m thankful that I could acquire a little tidbit of information about my donor heart. And last but not least, I’m grateful for all of you and your prayers and words of encouragement. 

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 Song to Share: Radiate