We’re currently in the hospital in Houston; Amanda has an infection in her chest from the sternal wire removal two weeks ago. The transplant team wanted us to be here for a two-week follow-up, but we pushed for a follow-up with our primary; I guess they got their wish after all. She’s actually in surgery right now, but let me back up and catch you up.
She has been doing good; the pain came down, and she wasn’t even taking pain meds. The weekend was busy with a baby shower she helped host at our downtown place. Friday, her chest was hurting, but she chalked it up to more activity with all the prep for the baby shower. Saturday, her chest began to hurt more and was red. By that night, it was quite red and swollen, she showed me, and I immediately said it’s infected. I felt it, and it seemed warm compared to her belly. We decided to wait to see what the morning would bring.
Her chest was no better in the morning, possibly worse, with an area raised significantly. We decided to go to the stand-alone ER in Del Rio to keep from making a Houston trip but waited till after morning service. She sang well, and I’m sure no one knew anything was awry. After service, she was hurting; her dress irritated the raised spot. So we went home to change and then went to the ER. This is an excellent place with usually no wait at all. The receptionist said they were busy, but we still made it back in only 10 minutes or so. We ran around a sick lady in the waiting room; I guess the transplant card pays off sometimes!
The doctor didn’t seem too optimistic and wanted to defer to the transplant doctor. After the labs came back, he said she had an infection, and the team wanted her to be transferred via ambulance. A Uvalde to San Antonio ambulance ride is bad enough on her back, so there was no way she was going from Del Rio to Houston in one!
They ran two different bags of antibiotics, one for 30 minutes and then another for an hour. I ran out to grab some Taco Bell for us, fed the Yukon as well, and it through the wash all while the antibiotics ran. And then we hit the road. First stop was at the house to feed the pups, grab some overnight stuff, and we were off again. I would tie my Brackett to Houston record, even with two stops on the way. I like the light traffic at night, just not the 2 am arrival time!
We were given a phone number for the transfer team, so they had things set up and a room ready when we arrived. There just be a quick stop at the ER to sign paperwork. They asked if we wanted transport to bring a wheelchair to take us to the room Amanda declined, and they handed me her chart, and we were off. We’d only been to the ER once for Amanda’s uncontrollable nosebleed right after the transplant. So I was a little unsure of the way, but once I saw a colored elevator, I knew where I was and confidently led the way. Refusing the wheelchair turned out to be a bad idea; Amanda was hurting by the time we got to the room.
Before the nurse even saw us, a doctor with the cardiac team stopped by. He’d been alerted we were coming and was waiting for our arrival. He was great, pleasant, and very informative. Our night nurse that followed him was none of those things! You know how when a waitress walks up, and you know it will be bad service, this was just like that! My senses didn’t lie; she was terrible.
After we settled in, I returned to the car to grab my backpack and a bag with Amanda’s robe and her pillow. We self-parked since I’d be going back and forth to the car. We never park ourselves and always valet, so this isn’t a usual walk for me. As I walked back across the garage sky bridge, I was flooded with memories. I saw the CVCC room Amanda was in after the transplant from the outside. This is a challenging area, a cardiac ICU essentially. It’s always hard to see Amanda in that state. If you’ve followed us for a while, you know that more than once over the years after leaving her side, I’d have to go into a bathroom just to have a cry. It’s funny how memories are and how something can vividly bring them back. With both my parents passing recently, I’ve experienced a lot of this over the past year.
Neither of us slept much; I’m not sure Amanda got any. I tossed on and off for a while, and with a bright blue light on a WiFi box right above my head not helping. Of course, I was a little riled up after I leaned forward too much, tipping my recliner over and falling on the floor! I’ll update on this morning and more about what they are doing in surgery later tonight.