"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
--Jeremiah 29:11

Thursday, September 3, 2009

HOME!

What a day! We are all home safe and sound and made the trip in a little over 8 hours. The nurse practitioner asked me before lunch what our travel plans were and I told her we had a long drive. She asked if we'd like to get an early start driving tomorrow am, meaning getting discharged this afternoon (Weds.). I said that'd be great. Of course, he still had to get interrogated and get a chest x-ray, do all the paperwork, etc. We thought about getting a good night's sleep and heading out in the morning but we both got the itch to get home as soon as possible so we took off about 4:50pm eastern time. Greg drove the whole way.

Some exciting news: Brandon Inge, the third baseman for the Detroit Tigers, was at the hospital today for a special dedication ceremony naming today "Inge Day" there because of all the time and money he's given to the hospital and patients. The Tiger's mascot, Paws, was also on hand. We didn't wait in line for autographs, but we did get Connie's pic with the tiger upstairs as he visited kids in their rooms and delivered a ball park style lunch of hot dogs, nachos, frozen lemonade and caramel corn. I'll post it when I unpack the camera!!

Discharge Status: The results of the discharge testing show that Connie's LV heart function has improved since immediately post-op and the cardiologist today felt that the one wall that is not squeezing as hard as it should should continue to improve now that the mitral regurgitation is mild. The little issue we had with his atrial lead means that his heart is now requiring more battery power from his pacemaker to generate an atrial beat, meaning the pacer is now calculated to last 4.5 more years instead of the 6 years it was on track to last (will have to be replaced sooner). There is a chance that as his heart heals from the trauma of surgery, the power can be turned down some and save some of the battery life. Time and Dr. Bromberg will tell. His post-op meds include Enalapril for blood pressure, lasix for fluid build up (we expect he'll be taken off this in a bit), synthroid for thyroid (we expect he'll also be taken off this since it was to treat a problem caused by another heart med he is no longer on). He's been given a prescription of oxycodone for pain and is taking tylenol and ibuprofen. He's doing great and is so excited to be home finally!

Lord,
We are so blessed to have hundreds of people lifting Connie up to you in prayer and we are incredibly grateful for their love and support. Please continue to bless his recovery at home. Thank you for such a smooth surgery and recovery. This is such new territory for us to finally be on this side of the fence, the ones who go home quickly. Please watch over all the little children Connie left behind who are still recovering or about to have surgery. Guide their medical teams and parents and give the children peace and comfort. In Jesus' precious name, Amen.

14 comments:

H. James said...

Hooray! Hooray!! Being home must feel wonderful. I am so happy that your Michigan trip was considerably shorter and more straightforward than the last one. I hope everyone enjoys a good sleep in their own beds!!

Anonymous said...

What wonderful news!!!!! So glad to hear that everything went so well and you're back at home already. Sending hugs to you all, Caryn & Family

Unknown said...

O, I am so happy for you!
I prayed your prayer, Erin and am giving God thanks and Praise for answering our prayers with such incredible generosity and love.
Greg and Erin - your faith is a blessing to me!
Much Love,
Sarah

Lisa Pappalardo, Grant, Nate and Scott said...

One word...
YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

Unknown said...

WooHoo!!!!
Isn't it great to be on the 'quick recovery' team???

Joining you in prayer of thankfulness and gratitude-and praying for those left behind at the hospital.

Take care!
Lisa

Rachel Anderson said...

Amen!

Welcome home, Connie!

Anonymous said...

Amen! Don and Sharon and family

Steph said...

Congratulations! I am so happy for you guys. It's great that you got to fast track for once! Enjoy being at home this long weekend!

Steph (L-TGA group)

Anonymous said...

Home, such a wonderful place! So happy to have you guys back where you belong!! Such a wonderful post to read this morning!!
Mindy

Anonymous said...

I just praise God for his wonderful goodness in taking such good care of our boy, and sustaining you and Greg in all this. You know you have our continued prayers. Love, Sr Josephine

Annie Whitelaw said...

Congratulations!!! I am so happy to see that you are all home safe and sound and that Conway is doing so great!

Anonymous said...

I have never meet you but our church sent out and email with your info. I have been keeping up everyday and praying like crazy. I will keep you all in my prayers and am so thankful everything is going so well. God is Great!

Anonymous said...

How Awsome! Glad you were able to leave last night and that you are now safely home. Praising our Awesome God for his mercy and blessings!

Wendy L-TGA group

krissy ringp said...

congrats on getting home!!!!!!