Good afternoon,
Last night I stopped giving updates once I couldn't process anything more. And Jodie seemed to be slowly improving so I was focusing on her. I left the hospital last night around 11:30pm to go home for sleep.
I arrived back at the hospital early this morning at about 6:45am since I wanted to get there before the nurses changed shifts so I could talk to her overnight nurse and meet her nurse for the day. Jodie was looking better but at the same time more tired. She ordered breakfast and ate a little bit of everything. Its great that she is getting an appetite back.
Mark showed up around 8:30. Later, maybe roughly 8:45, her Cardiologist came in to talk to us and discuss her condition and next steps. She was still running a low grade fever at that time, and so far most of the viral labs had come back negative. However, since she was still running a fever, they made the decision to move her upstairs to a different wing in the ICU to keep her isolated. At about 9:00, they got ready to move her out, and the nurses led myself and Mark out; they have our phone numbers and will be giving us updates when they become available. We could not go with her to the ICU, but as soon as visiting restrictions are lifted, I will be rushing back to her side. They are being cautious and are doing everything they can to get her healthy again, and to get Jodie back onto the list to be considered for a heart.
1:00 pm : I got a call from her nurse, she is doing better, her vitals are good, and the fever broke. Still trying to get extra fluids off, and she has been tired.
4:12 pm : Got another call, right now there's no change in her condition, but they're trying to put an arterial line back in her arm to more accurately monitor vitals (which is something the ICU can do that the main hospital can't). Since I wasn't able to leave it with her before we left, I asked the nurse if I could at some point return to the hospital if not to see her, to at least get her phone with charger back to her so she can be in contact with everyone. Until I hear back, the best way to contact her will be to send all well wishes and contact requests to this email I made for us. I will make sure it makes it to her:
jodiesjourneyupdates@gmail.com
Please continue to pray for us. All love and prayers appreciated.
BACKGROUND
As many of you know, Jodie was born with congenital heart defects and had surgery at 10 days and 18 months old. She did ok throughout childhood, but had to be on some medications through high school, then another was added in college. Jodie went on to grad school, and unexpectedly required a valve replacement in 2007. It turned out she was in the early stages of heart failure, but only found out after the procedure. She needed to get a pacemaker since her heart stopped beating on its own, and then a few months later upgraded to a pacemaker/ defibrillator due to low heart function. In 2008, Jodie was told that she would eventually need a heart transplant, and that the doctor predicted it to be necessary within the next 5 years.
In the 12+ years since then, Jodie was upgraded to a bi-ventricular pacemaker/defibrillator which helped her feel better but didn't improve her numbers, had it replaced two more times due to the battery almost running out (normal process), was put on a new medication that helped her feel much better but still didn't improve the numbers. Then in April of 2019 things started to get interesting. Jodie went into an atrial flutter and after 3 weeks, had to be cardioverted (think being shocked with paddles, but more controlled and while under anesthesia) to get her rhythm back to normal. Then over the summer she started feeling more and more tired, and having slightly worse symptoms. Jodie had some tests in August that showed things were worse, and the doctor told us in October that we would need to check back in early 2020 to see how things are. After having those tests, its clear that Jodie needs to have a heart transplant.
WHY DID WE START THIS BLOG?
Jodie and Peter decided to keep this blog for a few reasons. First, as a way to keep our friends and family up to date. Second, as a way to share how we are doing and what we are going through (and potentially what we need). Third, as a way to document this journey.
We have learned that we want the people around us, and those who care about us, to know what is going on, but don't always have the energy to talk about it over and over. We will be sharing was is "on our hearts" as we go through this journey. We welcome you to check in as often as you like. Thoughts and prayers are much appreciated. You are always welcome to reach out individually, but please feel free to leave comments on our posts and we will try to respond to everyone when we can. We are also planning to use this platform to share news when we don't have time or energy to send to everyone.
Some of our posts may be more emotional, and some may be about more mundane things. Once we get to step 4, it could take anywhere between 1 day and a year or more to reach step 5. We have no way to know. As we are in that waiting period, we do know that one of the things that will be helpful to us will be to keep busy - board game nights, movies, etc. If you are nearby, please do reach out. While Jodie can't be doing anything too strenuous right now, we still want to connect with people. If things come up that we need or could use help on, we may post it here, or reach out specifically to those who have let us know they want to help.
Thank you for walking with us through this journey as we share what is on our hearts. Please check back for updates. We will add information as it becomes available and as we go through the process ahead.
God bless,
Jodie & Peter Elliott
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One month post transplant!
Wow. It is almost unbelievable that it has been one month since the transplant. So much has happened, with two weeks in the hospital, and ...
Love and hugs
ReplyDelete🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
ReplyDeletePraying for you Jodie, no time to be getting sick my friend💜💜 You need that new heart!
ReplyDeletePraying you continue to improve, Love you Jodie💜💜
Kelly
That’s wonderful news, glad her fever broke. I wish I was closer I could at least help you with your animals!
ReplyDeleteGet some rest, you need to stay healthy and keep washing your hands! You are doing a great job Peter.💗
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ReplyDeleteThanks for the update Peter, tell Jodie hello and take care of you.
ReplyDelete🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
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