There was much to look forward to! A week at the beach with all the Kanipe kids, and another week at the beach with the Knight kids. In addition, Lee, along with his brother-in-law, Tom had been successful with their garden. There was an abundance of green beans, squash, cucumbers, and soon to be corn.
In spite of having to recover from his recent surgery, and additional trips to Duke, we were able to can 52 quarts of green beans, 12 pints of pickled 3-bean salad, 25 quarts and pints of pickled cucumbers, and 12 quarts of corn for the freezer. We were on a roll!
Unfortunately it was during this time that an early visit to Duke pulmonary revealed mild rejection for Lee. He was given the usual protocol of a huge 3-day IV treatment of Solu-Medrol, 1000 mg per day x 3 days. After another 10 days, he completed his step-down to his normal dose of Prednisone, 5 mg. Immediately following the completed step-down, he began to experience some heart problems.
On Tuesday, June 10, I realized after checking his heart, BP, and pulse rate, that his heart was under undue distress. He was taken by ambulance to a local hospital where he was diagnosed with Atrial Flutter. After spending one night, the attending cardiologist suggested that he return to Duke Cardiology because of his other issues. He also needed a cardio-version to establish a normal sinus rhythm of his heart. He was placed on an anti-coagulant.
Lee was followed-up by the doctors at Duke and had a successful cardio-version later that week. That was great news! Unfortunately, he would now have to wait another four weeks before a follow-up on the rejection. The only way to determine if he was still in rejection would have to be a biopsy of the lung. This was delayed.
Once again, Lee is facing the same issues he had that began in June, almost three months to the day. The cancer on his head returned with a vengeance, and once again, he will have to endure a major surgical procedure to remove the cancer. The first procedure involved two skin grafts, exploration of all lymph nodes and a removal of the parotid gland. He had a modified radical neck procedure with grafts. He was in surgery seven hours, intensive care, forty-eight hours, and his hospital stay was for five nights.
Unfortunately, he is caught in the triangle of a triple -whammy! He had another cardio-version last week, the bronchoscopy to determine rejection has once again been postponed until mid September, and he is facing another surgical procedure similar to the last one. This time he has been advised to undergo the radiation, and he has said yes to that.
August will be filled with surgical procedures and many trips back and forth to Durham as we continue on this journey to keep Lee healthy. I have to add that in spite of all the doom and gloom I have written today, Lee has had an amazing year! 2013 and most of 2014 were filled with a return to our formal lives as we knew before Lee's sickness and subsequent transplant. We have spent happy days at the beach, and Lee has enjoyed many fishing trips. He has harvested a beautiful garden, and we have enjoyed spending time with our family and our many friends. Life has been good!
Lee has an amazing resilience to complications and his body has been able to recover from challenges, proving to all that he is continuing his role as the "miracle man". I jokingly told him he was like a
"Jack In The Box". He keeps getting pushed down only to surprise everyone and spring back up!
More Later...............................................................Brenda
No comments:
Post a Comment