April 7, 2016
Here we are in the CICU (Cardiac Intensive Care Unit), Den was admitted last night for Cardiogenic Shock with the need for advanced measures. Through out the night he has been given Bumex via IV push and it is working. He is putting out tons of urine thru the Foley and says he is feeling a little better. He went to the Cath Lab at 11AM for his right heart cath to insert a SWAN. This is a probe that they insert into the heart thru the neck that has sensors on it to measure pressures inside the heart. The nurses are wonderful here. Always helpful and willing to educate us on what is going on with Den’s treatment.
Den’ appetiete has not improved. All he ordered was lunch….Chicken soup, open faced turkey sandwich, mashed potatoes with gravy, apple juice, and peaches. He only ate the soup, peaches and juice. It worries me more and more every day that he is not eating.
Den & I were given some information on LVAD’s this morning so we started to educate ourselves via the internet (thank goodness for wifi). I found a plethora of information, both good and bad. So I started making a list of questions for the doctors. This way Den and I could make an informed choice about whether or not to go ahead with this major surgery.
Some of the questions we came up with were:
- What are Den’s bleeding risks?
- What are his re-admission risks after surgery?
- Will there be quality of life improvement?
- What happens if the pump doesn’t work?
- Is he at higher risk for a stroke?
I really need to tell you about Den’s room…I forgot until now! It was TINY. The only place for me, in my chair, was to squeeze in between his bed and the wall. I would pull the tray table in to close myself off and stay out of the way of the staff, but no one could get past me when I was there. I would sleep that way with my feet hooked on the down side rail. Trust me it was not comfortable, but we soldiered thru. I was still uneasy about leaving Den anywhere after the fiasco at the last hospital.
I called home as usual in the evening to check on Em and Marg. I filled them in on what little had changed since the night before, but I told them what I knew. Den and I settled in for another night and hoped that tomorrow would dawn just a little bit brighter.
Den's LVAD 