Sometimes I miss not writing, but not sure what to say at times....   Larry has been doing really good, improving and getting strength back.  Able to walk now without getting short of breath.  If it weren't for his cords and bags, you woukd not know what he has been through....  i find myself looking at him and just smiling at him.....  he understands.

Nightly snack has become popcorn instead of ice cream....  always has to share some....

Went to clinic today to get INR tests to check for his coumadin dosage...  until his machine gets in, we have to do this weekly....  

when we got to the 4th floor to clinic, it was like reunion week.  The only other 2 LVAD patients that were in the hospital with Larry were both there as well....  both are men, and I had talked to both if their wives many times....  one guy was a week ahead of Larry, the other was a week behind....   they were there for doctor visits, one lives in Searcy, the other in Benton...

We were all out there chatting and comparing notes when Dr Ransom walked by....  of course he smiled and joked about it....

Btw, I offered to let Larry iff at the door, he chose to walk...  we were at the far end of the parking lot.  He did great....   when Tori asked how rehab was going, he mentioned his walk, and she agreed he us doing well on own rehab...

Sure wish I had gotten a group photo....  will try to do that at the reunion dinner in June.

Then I requested a trip to Home Depot... i bought new led undercounter lights... and I got 3 of the 5 mounted too, one has to be returned tomorrow for a longer size before I can do those 2... oh also beed a new drill bit, I broke the one I was using......  LOL, one of Larrys...  i dont own a drill, i do have my own dremmel, and power screwdriver.....  that I keep hidden from him.....

We now have a generator.....   was delivered today, so now if the power goes out, we can have some peace of mind....  Larry has 4 sets of batteries, and each set powers for 10-12 hours...  but still it is something he thinks about.....

No, insurance did not cover that, this was on us....  but so far, insurance has taken care if just about everything...  

He received a new doppler blood pressure reader today, so will return the one we were using back to Baptist.  Got a call today about the home INR test machine, so Larry wont have to go in each week for that blood test.....  that checks his coagulation ratio for his Warfarin dosage.  All of these things will help cut his required visits to the clinic/office.

Then in todays mail, there was a dinner invitation to a LVAD patient and caregiver reunion.....  how cool is that?   I sure hope that some of our nurses from the CVICU are there....  i am so very glad we were able to come home for this.....

 I still have not received reimbursement from the FMCA insurance... too slow if you ask me, but I will continue to remind them....  instead if once a week, think I will begin twice a week...

We did make a exercise run today....   lol if you thought we were running... we went to the bug walmart....  but we each had our own cart...  so that was considered exercise....  nice weather for it... finally no rain...

prayers for those who are dealing with floods, dealing with deaths of loved ones, and health concerns....   many of my friends are in my thought....

Doctor appointment day is always a long day....  but today was a good one.   Every one there is just so great, to include the desk clerks, nurses, and "handsome John Ransom"....  found out on tuesday at my infusion that was his nickname.....  he laughed really loud when I mentioned it.

Why a long visit?   Well, all of it is at least in the same building.
1st is the stop by the lab for bloodwork
2nd is the stop by for a chest xray
3rd is to go to clinic for vital signs
4th is the room......  where our nurse coordinator does her thing. Larry has to unplug his data
      line, plug into theirs so they check past readings, she goes over everything with us, but I also
      text her during the week if needed.
Then We see Dr Ransom, he ALWAYS looks at his driveline, goes over meds, and numbers.
     I love the fact that he is so personally involved...   i mentioned to him that Larry had had a staph
     infection (Tori had checked it on Monday) and he immediately said where, show me...  i did a  
    good job of caring for that....
then there are sometimes other tests, like today they interrogated his ICD, to get that data, and they
     did another EKG, did one in step 3, but he wanted a longer strip.....  so the nurses gave him a
     4 foot strip...  laughing the whole time, should they wind it or fold pleat it....
Sometimes at the point we also see Dr. Hutchins, today we did not.

today he got very good reports....  stopped his med for the arythmia.....ecause he hasnt had any,  did increase a diuretic 2x a week, said all labs were great, and it is very obvious that his excercising is helping....  we also today met the 4th LVAD coordinator, Jimmy....   one of the 4 is always on call

Then we went to eat a late lunch...  becoming a custom...  so left the house at 10:30 got home at 2;30...
McAlister Deli today...   nothing fancy, just time out...

Larry has ordered a couple of new backpack type carriers and tried one out today, seemed to work good, and got a thumbs up from Dr.......

Larry is continuing to improve daily.....  both physically and mentally....   i posted on facebook about my visit this morning to UAMS.....  infusion center.

This is NOT a new condition for me, recurring....

 i had gastric bypass surgery years ago, as a result, by blood pressure is normal, cholesterol is normal, and I am no longer diabetic......  however one of the side effects that can happen after that surgery, is that I am now Iron Deficiency Anemic.....  my body cannot absorb iron through my digestive system, either from food or pills.  Seven years ago it had gotten so low that i could barely get from the bed to the couch....  this is not just iron in my circulatory system, but iron in my bone marrow,  so began the series of transfusions.....  they first though i would have to have these every 5 months or so, but after a few years we got it built up so that it lasted longer this time.  I do have this tested every 6 months at doctor checkups.

I could have waited a few months, but since I am Larrys primary caretaker, my doctor and I decided to go ahead before it got too low.....  no problems......  i drive myself, get hooked up to an IV, have the iron over a one hour infusion, then drive home...  will do this every Tuesday for a total of 7 weeks.... it is only scary before you know what it is......

He wanted to go with me, but I was more afraid of him picking up some illness.......

It is so amazing how much grandkids can lift your spirits.....   David, Katie, Anna, and Hayes came down today...  Anna's birthday will be Tuesday, so they came to celebrate.....  when we were at the grocery store Larry suggested that WE make cupcakes for her, he picked out a cakemix, and i got to make them, but I saved the decorating for Anna and Hayes....   went out to eat, Big Orange hamburgers, then home to eat cupcakes..........



NOTE  it is also amazing that this blog has a mind of its own.....  i posted all of the photos at the same time, but 2 are oversuzed, then i cannot scroll down to them to edit them......

Oh well.....  

Modeling the vest...     

no hanging wires to snag, but still heavy to carry....

Cut holes on the insides of pockets for the wires, they go around his back.....

Have some other ideas that I will try.....

Yesterday Larry wasnt feeling well and so skipped rehab. Was a stormy rainy day anyway....

 But later in the day, he said he felt like he needed to walk, and and he announced that he would begin going with me to stores...   sure am glad...   will save me money from going clothes shopping, oh, but then spent more on things/snacks for him......   lol  not really...   he is a major online shopper for things he wants....

 TODAY was a better day, he accompanied me to the grocery store....  it took longer, but that is ok....  he did great...   he just now asked me if I wanted to go out to eat tonight, at our favorite Chinese restaurant....  of course I said yes, now I am just wondering if he will take his wallet.... he hasnt carried it since new normal began.  Just expects me to have my purse.....   smile.   NOPE, HE HAD MONEY....   SMILE

He wore his new vest I had modified for him....  forgot to get a photo of him in it, but here are the mods....   he can run all of the wires/cords on the inside now. There is one inside pocket that holds the controller, and you can see where I have made and bound a cord hole.    Have a couple of other vests that I will be modifying as well.....

Only dear Possum would see that....   This man called the hospital while we were in Florida, and the desk clerk came to see if we would take his call....   cause he lives in Canada, and his name was Possum....   he always makes us laugh....   and we love Denise his wife too......

Last week Larry had his first day of evaluation at Cardiac Rehab, but no actual exercise.  Thursday, his first day, he didnt feel quite up to it, so he called in sick.....  oops.....

Ok today he was ready...  I went up with him, not for him, but for me...  i will now most likely just drop him off, and run an errand, or maybe take a nap in my jeep.....  it is still very surreal that we are where we are today, planning his treadmill time as opposed to hospice....  If you have not been reading from the beginning. We were getting ready to plan his hospice the end of February.... now it is SPRING