June 7, 2016
Den has settled into a routine of home PT, OT and nurse visits. He is progressing well and regaining more each and every day. His goal is to finally ditch his walker and have more freedom to be on his own.
We surprised Em by attending the closing mass for her school. I talked Den into using the wheelchair since walking any distance is still very difficult for him. Em received several awards, including one for student council. We, as always, are very proud of her and all that she accomplishes. We went out for breakfast to celebrate the end of another school year. Den surprised us both by using the walker at the restaurant. 
June 8, 2016
We have decided to go to the outpatient clinic for Den’s weekly blood work. When we arrived, there was not order on file at our chosen location. So I called Colleen, from the LVAD team. She asked me to send her an email with the phone and fax number for the reception desk. Which I did. Colleen said she would fax over a copy of the order. Since we had an appointment with Den’s electrophysology doctor in the same complex, we decided to come back to the clinic when we were done.
Marrietta was so happy to see us. She is the PA (physician’s assistant) for Dr. Andres, Den’s EP doctor. She commented how much better Den looked since that last time she saw him. Den weighed in at 232. She also let us know that Den was in A-Fib, but was paced at 90 BPM (beats per minute…his heart rate). She said she didn’t need to see us for another 6 months. Before we left both Dr. Andres and Dr. Mitchell came in to see Den. Everyone was amazed by the changes in Den. He has so much more color to his face that it is apparent to everyone who has seen him over the last 4 months.
After checking to see if the outpatient clinic had received the blood work order, which they had not, we went home and Den took a nap. It had been a very long day. We would try again in a few days to see if they got the order.
Den's LVAD 