Skip to main content

5 Heart and the List

 The last couple days have been frustrating, exhusting and long...but so good at the same time! 

After waiting a day and a couple pushed back surgery times Mike got an Impella Heart Pump placed on 8.7.24. This is the world's smallest heart pump and it helps to maintain blood flow and pump his heart. So far it is pumping triple the output that he was doing on his own. He will have this in until he gets his new heart. With help from a nurse he will be able to do laps around the unit floor and keep up his muscle tone, physical therapy is scheduled for everyday at 11am. Mike is thankful to be able to work from the hospital until he gets a heart so he can keep his mind busy. We hope to settle into a better rountine and schedule by the end of this week/beginning of next week. Of course I am sure we will be thrown curve balls, but at least all the tests and inital visits for the transplant list is over. 

Mike's first walk after getting the Impella:



Mike has been moved to a different part of the hospital and is now in the Meijer Heart Center on an ICU floor - 5 Heart. He will remain here until heart day! He has a nice big comfy room tucked into the corner of the hospital, lots of natural light and his amazon fire stick is all ready for football season! We are making it more like home each day. Sadly Mike cannot accept gifts of flowers, plants, food, or latex balloons while he is here. 

On August 8th he was offically listed as a level 2 on the Heart Transplant List! We are excited and extremely nervous for this next chapter. It is weird to pray for a heart...someone has to die for that heart...a family has to grieve for that heart. A nurse the other day I think said it best. Don't think of it as someone has to die, people are going to die anyway. Think of it as someone who is already going to die and something good is coming out it. This not only helps us, but also the grieving family, knowing that their loved one is living on and helping others. 

I do have to warn everyone about the dry run. A dry run is when we get the call that we have a heart. They prep Mike for surgery and the heart gets to the hospital. From here Dr. Hooker will need to examine the heart and be sure it is the right fit for Mike and his body. Mike requires a big heart, no suprise there as we all know Mike is a big guy 6 foot 5 inches! He also requires an O+ blood type heart as well. It may take a bit longer to find this, however it could happen any day. If the heart is not a good fit they will pass on the heart and Mike will stay on the list. This is called a dry run. 

All in all he is settling in to his new room and recouping after surgery. We are so thankful that he had that appointment on August 1st and we didn't go to Alpena for the long weekend. Each day in this past week his heart has declined and got weaker. God stopped us in our tracks and put us where Mike needed to be...His perfect timing! We still can't believe that this is all happening...but it is and we will adapt and grow with it. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

6 Months...180 Days...and so Many Moments Together

 2025 is going by so fast! I can hardly believe that six months have past since Mike got his heart transplant. March 7th marks half a year through this journey, and oh what a journey it has been!  Over the last couple months we have celebrated Blake's 11th birthday, my 38th birthday, and a few more birthday parties on top of those. Blake crossed over into Boy Scouts and went on his first campout with his new troop. Easton and Blake wrestled in a few tournaments where they earned some new medals, they have Regionals coming up this weekend. The boys are doing great in school and growing so fast, Blake is catching up to us all and already 5'4". While I am writing this blog tonight I had to put them back to bed three times...they are getting creative with their procrastination techniques. In the not so far future I can only imagine that they won't be coming back out to ask silly questions and want to be tucked back into bed. These times are so precious and fly by so fast. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Month 11...August

 The dreaded month of August.  When I was growing up this month became the forbidden month, the month to try and lay low. Several bones have been broken in the Foster family during the month of August and this trend has moved on to the Neubert family. For the last four years the month of August was marked with Covid, hospital visits, heart failure, and funny enough... trips to The Deck and beach in Muskegon. In 2022 Mike picked up Covid and it was taking a long time to go away. Turns out it was heart failure. We visited The Deck in Muskegon and walked the long pier out to the lighthouse. Mike couldn't even make it a quarter of the way out and had to sit down on the rocks to rest, we knew something was very wrong. Later that August and into September we found out Mike was in heart failure and he was admitted to the hospital; that began our four year journey to where we are today. In 2023 when we visited the pier Mike was listed at a level 6 on the heart transplant list. When we...
Post a Comment
Read more

Month 8

 Month 8 happens to be the busy month of May filled with fresh flower buds, mother's day, birthday celebrations, and end of the school year activities. As we transition into summer we move into memory lane. Reflecting back on the last couple months before Mike went into the hospital, the activities we did just a year ago that we are repeating again, now with the feelings, emotions, and lessons coming to light. Those memories that felt like the last at one point, are now becoming wonderful moments of treasured time spent together. As the weeks grow short and the activities seem endless take a deep breath and remember that those moments are times in history that you will never get back. Take those moments and enjoy the craziness, learn how to slow time and make the most out of every second.  This month's rejection level was 0, we have been so blessed to have these results and thank God for Mike's new heart and body to be working together. We have noticed some extra bloating a...
Post a Comment
Read more