Tyler's Heart

Pictures - Pictures from Houston.
LVAD Video - A YouTube video about living with an LVAD.
HeartMate II Video Clip - Short video clip about the pump Tyler has.

Another good blog to read is from our friend Bill. Cozumel Part 1 - This Might Be Habit Forming.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Leg Surgery

Tyler had surgery today on his leg today. Got through surgery fine. The nerve they were looking at also looks fine. They said it appears he has had some arterial damage from some blood clot (side effect of the LVAD). Again, they are still not sure exactly what happened. The orthopedic nurse told me that he may need a brace (small plastic shoe insert) for walking. And that it may take from many months to a year to see if the nerve returns. The orthopedic nurse explained that he will be able to adapt to this and that physical therapy should resume next week. The neurologist (Dr. Irr) will have to now step back in and see why the nerve is causing so much pain. They found some dead muscle tissue in the calf but not extensive. Basically Tyler may have problems flexing his foot. They are also concerned with some blood flow to the big and little toe on his right foot but so far his color has remained good. I'm not to worried about the toes. The medicine Tyler had been put on a couple of days ago was making him tremble. This may have messed up the test results.

The nurses on the 12th floor asked how I was doing today and looked very concerned. I didn't understand why until they told me that Tyler was very concerned about me. Wow. I remember how concerned I was about him during my chemo treatments. Turn-about is fair play?

Tyler is back on the 2nd floor in CV-ICU. And to top it all off, in the same bed as when he first arrived in Houston. What kind of irony is that!
The cardiac surgeon came in and asked Tyler to push his foot forward and backward. Caused Tyler a lot of pain but he was able to move the foot. Not as much as his left foot but still movement. He is in a lot of pain and described the pain as a shooting hot pain on his leg. I'm hoping things get better with his leg and foot. I think Tyler has the motivation and spirit to make it get better.

He will be in CV-ICU overnight for observation and then be able to go back to his room on the 12th floor tomorrow.
His nurse tonight has a dog that she treats just like Tyler treats Toby. I think they will get along just fine. We showed each other pictures on our phones of our dogs. Larry Brown, the cath lab nurse that presented Tyler's case at the symposium last month came up to see how Tyler was doing and.....to ask Tyler if he would be willing to go to a conference they are having in August in Houston. I mean really!! Tyler the "Rock Star" lives on. They would fly him to Houston so that the conference attendees can hear about his case and see him walking around. Very impressive.

Tyler called me from his bed tonight. It finally dawned on me that he was calling from his cell phone. I asked how he got his phone. A nurse from the second floor went up to the room and got the phone for him. Thing is, I had put his phone in a small cubbyhole that has a door on it. The nurse must have had a great time trying to find that! Did I mention I'm in love with the nurses and support staff. He is getting anxious about the future and our new reality. We both still desperately want to hold onto the house and be back in Denver with our friends. Only time will tell how long that is actually going to take, but it is good to have a goal!

Robert

2 comments:

  1. Tyler,
    You, Robert and your family have been in my thoughts and prayers. I hope today finds you in good spirits. Love and peace to all. XXOO
    Valerie (Ransom) Coffey

    ReplyDelete