Pulmonologist Time

September 7, 2016

Today, Den has his appointment with his Pulmonologist (lung doctor). This is the same doctor he has been working with over the last couple of years to get his sleep apnea under control. Several years ago, Den had a sleep study done that confirmed that Den had both types of sleep apnea, central and obstructive. We made this appointment because of Den’s recent weight loss and the LVAD surgery. Dr. Arenson, our pulmonologist, said that now would be a good time to do another sleep study. This would tell us if any of Den’s issues had resolved. He told us that the center that he would like us to use was in Tinley Park, not too far away. And that when the study was done he would make sure copies of the results would be sent to Dr. Hennecke and the LVAD Team. This way everyone knew what was going on and nothing would “fall between the cracks”.

The single funniest thing that happens at most doctor’s offices is that they try to get a standard blood pressure on Den. I just shake my head and tell them, “Good luck.” Today was one of those days. The nurse finally gave up trying to get both a blood pressure and a pulse ox readings.

The front desk staff told us that the sleep center would be calling us to schedule a day and time for Den to have the sleep study done. We should call about a week after the study was done to make a follow up appointment with the office to get the results of the study.

September 9, 2016

Today is the first game of Em’s basketball season. We all went to St. Chris in Midlothian for the game. This is the first year that we have needed to deal with Den in a wheelchair, so I went to scope out how best to get Den into the gym (which was on the lower level of the building. Luckily, the school is equipt with an elevator, so it was not as terrible as other locations. It was nice to have Den there to help cheer the team on to victory. The girls really showed what they had learned in the last few years and handily beat the other team 34-6.

September 10, 2016

Another basketball game today. This time we played St. Gerald. The girls won again – 17-8. They are really off to a stellar start to their season. All of the parents want to see these girls succeed after all of the years of hard work they have all put in. The team really does seem to be gelling this year and I really hope it continues.