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.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Janet and David

I've mentioned Janet and David in some of these past postings.   They are the couple we were introduced to in Houston that had an LVAD.  Both Janet and David helped Tyler and me immensely in understanding (and witnessing) day-to-day life with an LVAD.  David had received his LVAD about 5-6 months before Tyler.  In the early weeks of our event, I was introduced to Janet by the staff at St. Luke's.  Janet graciously sat down with Tyler's parents and me to start sharing her experience and knowledge about life with an LVAD and trying to get on the transplant list.  Janet was one of the angels sent to me during this crisis.   Yes, some of the information imparted to me seemed overwhelming at the time, but Janet's stoic stance and determination helped me to see that this situation could be dealt with.  Over the months Tyler and I were in Houston, Janet and David were always there for us.  When I would take a trip back to Colorado, Janet would come to the hospital to hang with Tyler.  When Tyler was out of the hospital, Janet and David would come over to the apartment to talk and continue to help us through the "maze".   One of the most notable interactions between us was when Janet told Tyler that he wouldn't be able to use a vacuum cleaner any more due to the possible static electricity.   Poor Janet, she thought this would be a positive for Tyler.   She was mistaken.   Tyler was none to happy about this restriction and let us know that immediately.  Janet had a shocked look on her face as she thought Tyler would be over-joyed by this news.

David went in to the hospital a few weeks ago to have his LVAD upgraded to the new model.  Unfortunately he started experiencing many issues related to the surgery and battled for weeks with different problems.  On September 2nd, 2010, David lost the battle and passed away.  Janet and David fought a very long struggle but always maintained a fighter's attitude.   Janet dedicated her life to their struggle and to helping others going through this same struggle.  The last several weeks were very stressful and hard on Janet and showed just how hard being a caretaker can be.  Janet was a strong role-model.

I am very sad for her as she has been going through hell not only for the past few years, but a particular hell this past three weeks.  My heart truly goes out to her and her family and hope that they can start moving forward again with the knowledge that they have performed the hardest job someone can ever have in life and did it with flying colors.  

Robert