Day 7 - The Bump in the Road

With high hopes that we might get discharged from the hospital today; that theory was quickly extinguished early this morning.  Susan had a short bout of arrhythmia this morning and it's looking like they want to hang onto her for another 24 hrs.  I guess things were going a little too smoothly.

Things like this are not a huge surprise given the massive amount of manipulation the heart has endured in the last few days.  Is this disconcerting?  Most definitely.  This also the reason why Susan has an AICD (Automatic Implantible Cardioverter Defibrillator).  The "blip" that Susan's heart made (also known as V-Tac) was not significant enough to cause the AICD to go off.

There are Susan's Purple Irises
No significance to this picture other than these flowers always
put a smile on Susan's face.  :) 

It's a bit of a disappointment but we should be very familiar with the unexpected nature of what we are doing here.  We've encountered these kinds of snafus on many occasions.  I think it was hard on Susan as I think she was really looking forward to getting out of here and being one step closer to being home and seeing Nicole and Russell.  That really highlights the mental side of what we are going through.  Yes, this is a significant medical experience but it is very challenging from the psychological point of view as well.  Couple that with some medications that made Susan feel fairly crummy this morning it wasn't a great start to the day.

The afternoon has gone a bit better.  Susan perked up a bit after lunch and went for a walk.  While hanging out in the healing gardens we met a couple from Saskatoon.  After the obligatory "what are you in for?" icebreaker we found that they were recent recipients of a new heart.  We felt right at home.  Of course we exchanged war stories and some of our medical adventures.  We visited for a long time.  Hospital Administrators and Health Care professionals take note.  Peer support is REALLY REALLY important.  The connections are immediate and no one can speak to each other better than those who have similar experiences.  It is a huge morale boost.  We really need to integrate patients more and create opportunities where patients and the family's can interact and support each other.

So what is the plan?  The current plan is for Susan to "chill" for the rest of the day.  No homework.  The Docs have ordered an echo in the morning (Monday) and the "plan" is for discharge tomorrow.  That is the "plan" subject to change without notice.