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

Sunday, December 27, 2020

9 months, Merry Christmas, hiking, and puppies!

The 23rd was 9 months post transplant, and Christmas day is 9 months since I woke up in the ICU. Wow. It seems like so long ago, but also not that long ago. 

We had a very low key Christmas, with a few video calls to see the nieces and nephews open presents. It was hard to not be there, but the right choice for us this year. We braised a duck in the pressure cooker with lemon, rosemary, and potatoes. I also bought pasteurized eggs so I could have a runny egg and bacon for breakfast. Peter and I got some fun board games we really like.

Yesterday we went for a 2 mile walk around a pond on a greenway. Today we did a two mile hike at Occeneechee mountain with Peter's cousin, her husband, and their two girls. It was a beautiful day. We encountered some awesome views and hiked for about 2 hours. One part was steps going up about 200 feet that were rough, but I did it. It's amazing to realize how much more is possible now.

On the hike we saw a bunch of dogs. We had not brought Stella because 1) one of the girls is scared of dogs and 2) Stella was limping by the end of the walk yesterday and didn't really want to take one this morning, so we decided she needed the rest. 

Also, we are getting excited thinking about the new puppy we are going to get. The litter was born on Christmas Eve/early Christmas morning, and they had 8 puppies. We have reserved one of the boys, and are naming him Bosun. He is an Australian Shepherd, from a breeder up in Maine, and we get to go up the week after Valentine's to take him home! We are planning on bringing Stella and taking a few days in Deer Isle as vacation. We are so excited.
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1 comment:

  1. LupeDecember 31, 2020 at 4:26 PM

    Blessings abound! Your 9 month update is so uplifting. Glad to hear Stella is OK. Looking forward to meeting Bosun! Wishing you and Peter a Happy New Year!!

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