Bump Along The Way

Wow. Not sure how to explain this one, but I'll try. Almost exactly two years ago, Garrett was playing baseball and was not feeling well. We found out just two days later that his heart was dying. You know the outcome, and we're blessed.

Just over a week ago, Garrett was hunting turkeys in Kansas and feeling fine. On the way home, he began complaining of a headache and side ache. That night, he had a very upset stomach and was not able to go to school the next day. He started feeling better by week's end and on Saturday, he had a baseball scrimmage. He again wasn't feeling well but wanted to play. He turned a near double play and got a good hit. But I could tell he wasn't on his game and didn't have energy. That night I checked his vitals and his resting heart rate was 135 bpm. We called the transplant team and they sent us to Children's Hospital on Sunday morning.

Testing revealed that Garrett is in full rejection and the right side of his heart is not fully functional. By the time we got to the hospital, his resting heart rate was 145 bpm. By last night, it was over 150. A nurse told me in the ER that they were concerned about heart failure.

He was immediately admitted and started on a form of chemo therapy aimed at destroying his immune system and re-building it. It's always a balancing act, but his system did what it was designed to do and attacked what it saw as a foreign body...his heart. The result was the heart starting to fail and his heart, lungs and liver getting full of fluid.

Last night and today were pretty rough on him. He's been in a lot of discomfort and very scared. But this evening, he seems to be doing better. They performed a small surgical procedure today to put in a "pic" line, which is basically a shunt that goes directly into his heart. The chemo they were putting in his I.V. line burned his veins and wasn't going to last. The pic will be more permanent so he can stay on a regimen over the next few months most likely. He's on a course now that will put him on the pic meds for a week straight. The hope is that he will respond quickly to the turbo dose of chemo and be able to leave the hospital yet this week. He will be treated much like a leukemia patient, in that he'll have to live pretty reclusively again for most of the summer. They want to get him out of the hospital as quickly as possible to get away from the germs. We'll have to live close to the hospital and bring him in every day for four hours to get his infusion. I haven't told him yet that his baseball is over for the year...before the first game. Again.

While it's a pretty significant rejection, everyone is feeling positive about his chances to whip this problem. Garrett's tenacity has shown over the years and we'll just have to cinch up and take on this fight a day at a time. He already in just over 24 hours on the meds has shown improvement. Hard to believe because he was really, really sick. Still is, but is just starting to feel a little better.

As things change, I'll update frequently. We have our Lord leading the way and giving us the ability to fight. We're blessed to have that chance and every day is a victory.

JD