Friday, Amanda’s labs looked a little better, and they called the cath off. Her kidney number trended up a bit. The talk of a balloon pump was scrapped, with her high heart rate, it wouldn’t work. They may be able to try another inotropic medication like dopamine, but they hadn’t mentioned that yet. Dr. Sacks…

Well, I’ve been home working a week already, taken six trains back and forth to Houston, worked 75 hours, and driven over 1000. I’d say I’ve made the most of my time at home, even if I haven’t gotten anything done on the house yet. I got out with an engineer that I’ve previously worked…

Monday, I was called to work later than expected. I fell into an Olive Garden soup, salad, and breadstick coma, to the sound of rain pouring outside. I was pleasantly surprised to be called at 5 in the morning. The plan was to leave Amanda on the drips, both of them. They want to see…

The issue as of late had been food for Amanda. What they bring her or what she can order from the cafeteria is about it. She hadn’t felt good enough to go get anything in the last few days either. They changed her diet after the cath, when she was NPO. It’s been everything from…

On Wednesday, I was up early to make a seniority move so I could go straight to work. My direct manager was off on vacation, so another was supposed to get me marked up at 4 am. I was up then to check, but had to contact him to get it done. I got ready…

Tuesday, as the team came by and the doctor said his plan was the same, my first question was about the metolazone. They only gave Amanda a small dose, like she was taking at home. I  wanted to reiterate that medication tanks her kidneys. I made sure this doctor knew that. He thoughtfully explained to…

Sunday, Amanda’s weight was up again, not much, a pound, 1.5 the day before. It may not sound like much, but if you do that for a week, you’ll have 10 pounds real quick. They added one bolus that was only 1mg more than a single push she was taking three times a day at…

When we had our meeting with the social worker here at Vanderbilt for the initial approval, she said now is not the time to say no. She said if someone offered any help, now is the time to take it. I think I needed to hear that. It’s hard to ask for help even in…

I know I said I wasn’t going to post today, but this is essentially a post from Amanda. Saturday afternoon, I called YJ, our pastor, as I was on my way to Starbucks. He didn’t answer, but when I got back to the room, Amanda was on the phone with him. I loudly gave him…

Last night we were both exhausted but not sleepy, if that makes sense. Yesterday was a roller coaster ride for sure. The care partner came in for the midnight vital check, and we were wide awake with the TV on. They had turned the lights on and off, and promptly at midnight, left them on…