4/19/16 9am

Good Morning,

John had another relatively good night sleep last night.  Although we have had some struggles with not wanting to eat, he has been drinking well due to all the diuretics.  He was scheduled for his first biopsy yesterday morning, so they withheld all food and liquids from midnight.  About 9am they told us that due to some emergencies, they would push his biopsy to today.  So once again nothing by mouth since midnight and the biopsy would be at 1pm today.  Really? Surprise, they called and came to get him about 8:15.  Yeah!  We have heard about the biopsies in our Transplant Support Group that we have been going to for about eight years.  The joke of the group is 'you get your heart in one piece then they remove it bit by bit'.  They do the biopsies to detect rejection.  At the beginning they will be weekly, then monthly for a couple of years, then less frequent.  He has had several right heart caths, which is very similar to a biopsy procedure and they don't bother him.  Several people we know need to be sedated for theirs.

Last evening his blood glucose level was 232 so he received some insulin, this morning it was 100, so none was needed.  The way it was explained to us is that several of his meds contain ingredients which will raise the blood glucose level.  In some cases it becomes a permanent condition, but usually not.  In John's case due to his lower BMI, they think it shouldn't be a problem.

Last summer John's first nurse right out of surgery was Clare, and we have her again today.  She is a real doll.  Most of the people here are the best, we are so fortunate to have such wonderful care.

John did quite a bit of walking after I left last night and clocked in 1.93 miles.

That's all for now.

Colleen