Our Life Lately

I know it has been a few days since we last blogged but we wanted to allow dad's post to be the only blog for a little while. We thought dad's blog said it all and summed up our journey for the last month. We were also enjoying the time with dad being back at home and soaking up all the family time. Life has been great and there is no feeling like having dad back at home.

No, dad did not buy a walker! We put his walker in
the cart because it was easier to walk with the cart

We had a great first week with dad at home. We helped dad with getting around and were his cheerleaders when he went for a walk or was determined to get up the stairs alone. We did a lot of relaxing and sitting outside and dad also wanted to get out a little so we took him to a few places, but were very careful because of all the germs. I felt like I was traveling with a baby because I was wiping down the cart, wiping down everything dad went to touch and cleaned dad's hands a million times. I also stood back and watched him go on his own with extreme happiness for how far he has come.









Nikki and I also took dad into the city for a day of doctor appointments and everything went very well. Dad also did great with being out all day and going all over the hospital for his appointments. Once again we felt like we were traveling with a baby! We had a "diaper" bag with all dad's meds, sugar meter, snacks, baby wipes, transplant binder- you name it we had it because we needed to be prepared for everything. We had a lot of great laughs together and all in all had a great day together.

Jamesy giving Papa his nightly leg massage

We also tried to soak up all the time we could with Kristen, James and the kids because they were going home on Friday. Dad spent a lot of time playing with Gabby and Jamesy and of course spent a lot of time cuddling. They were both big helpers with dad. Gabby would love to help dad with his medicine and Jamesy would help give dad a leg massage at night. They were so great with dad and we really miss having everyone around everyday.










Sadly, on Thursday dad started to not feel so well and his stomach was causing him great pain. His stomach was all red and hot to the touch. We immediately took his temperature and put a call into the transplant unit because little things like this are a big deal for dad because his is so vulnerable to germs right now. Dad's visiting nurse came and told the doctors what she saw and they wanted to see dad first thing in the morning. They thought what he had was cellulitis and he needed some antibiotics. We were all sad because we knew that dad would be admitted back in Penn and would be there for a few days.

So Friday morning mom and dad headed to the hospital very early because they took Kristen and the kids to the airport. The doctors were concerned with dad's stomach and also all the fluid he still had on his legs and feet. The doctors told dad that he will stay at the hospital for a few days because they want to get the cellulitis under control and also help dad lose some of the fluid on his legs. We were all sad but also happy because we wanted  dad to get completely fixed but we also wanted him back at home. Friday began the life again that we just closed, the constant travel to and from Penn each day, waiting for doctors to tell us what is going on and waiting to hear when we can bring dad back home. I think it is safe to say that we did not miss this each day, but we know it will all be over soon and we can really begin moving on with life at home.

Dad is doing well and has lost 15 pounds of fluid. He responded well to the antibiotics and the cellulitis is on the way to being healed. The doctors are putting dad through some tests to make sure they cover all their tracks to find out why dad may be holding some of this fluid. He may have some blocked veins which can occur due to the transplant surgery, but then it can be nothing and his body just needs time to catch up to his new organs. We will get all these answers tomorrow because dad will have another biopsy, right heart cath and a study of his veins which will allow the doctors to know what is going on. If all goes well with everything tomorrow dad will most likely be coming home tomorrow or Thursday with the rest of his antibiotic.

Time will tell and we once again sit anxiously awaiting all the results of these tests. We are still so thankful for this new life that has been given to dad and all of us and we take each day as it comes and know that this is just a little bump and not a major setback.