It’s Sunday night and Rudy and I are getting ready to bed down for the night after a day together with family.  Rolf, Oma and the kids just left to go home to Santa Barbara.  We had a good afternoon together watching football (Go Giants!) and a movie at Rudy’s bedside.  The kids hadn’t seen him for a couple of weeks so it was good to have them come down even if it was a quick turnaround.

Rudy’s condition hasn’t changed much.  The weekend team had to stop the feeds to his stomach as his midsection got quite big and there was concern he wasn’t tolerating the nutrition.  I don’t think this is so much the concern anymore but they have decided not to start the feeds back up again.  The strategy, simply put,  at this point is to pump him with a bunch of calories intravenously and eliminate any calorie-burning activity i.e. feeds, sprints off the vent, etc. (for maybe a week or so) in hopes that he will gain strength.  So, for now the doctor’s orders are for Rudy to spend Thanksgiving packing on the calories while lounging in bed!  Not bad!!

A “promise of progress” does seem to renew itself with the start of each new week and, in light of that,  I pray for reassurance this week eventhough the pace of this journey seems to be slowing down even more.

Thanks to our friend Susie, our kids learned long ago the old Krehbiel trick of using the word “vacuums” in place of the word “sucks” when expressing displeasure about something.  It can make for an awkward moment as it did the day we drove the family around Santa Barbara for the first time when Rolf was considering the job at the Rescue Mission.  As we drove around the downtown streets, we asked the kids what they thought of the place and Wilson replied with a foggy stare, “Santa Barbara Vacuums”.  I jumped on him pretty hard emabarrassed by his disrespect when he said “No, look Mommy, it’s that shop over there”.  Ah, he got me!

Well, if you excuse the expression, last night vacuumed!  The day started out much like Tuesday with Rudy doped up and asleep most of the day.  Greg, Macey’s Daddy, came by for a visit laden with his camera gear to take cool pics of Rudy and I took a long walk around campus on what turned out to be a hot November day in So Cal.  Things, though, in the late afternoon took a turn for the worse but not with Rudy…this time it was with me.  I was discouraged by the end of the day as the fluid draining from Rudy’s chest tube INCREASED significantly rather than decreased after Monday’s surgical procedure to ligate the duct.  More than 120 ccs drained in a 12 hour period which was more than double what it was before the surgery.  In addition, the team wasn’t sure what kind of fluid it was…there seemed to be uncertainty and concern which sent my head spinning.  By dinner time, I was feeling sick and dehydrated.  Long story short, I ended up in the ER around 10pm with the help of my friend Kathy, headed back to Rudy’s room exhausted at 4am and slept through the shift change this morning until about 8:30am!  I hit a wall as did Rolf who was laid out at home with his recurring back pain while on the phone with Kathy getting the update on me!  The whole crazy night was just a reminder that this is stressful and can manifest itself physically.  So, my plan is to go home today and rest with the family for a couple of days.

The good news is today is a new day.  I woke up tired but better and Rudy’s output does seem to be decreasing (although we really need to wait 24 hours to compare).  He remains on full support on the vent and they will start the sprints up again next week along with some feeds of special formula to his gut.  For now, though, the plan is to let him rest over the weekend.  He has his big jowls again which make him look like a grumpy old man but, frankly, I wouldn’t blame him if he was a bit grumpy!  J 

God’s fingerprints have been all over this journey and I’m blessed by them even more in the midst of the challenges… thank you for continuing to be a vital part of God’s provision of grace during this time.  Love to you…from a sleepy CTICU.

Rolf just talked with the surgeon and Rudy will be back in his room in about 30 minutes.  He was able to “tie off” the duct and did some other things while he was in there…more detail on that later I’m sure.  Dr. Reemtsen said there is an 85% chance this will address the problem so our prayers continue that Rudy’s body will respond as it should!!!  Please pray for a quiet and comfortable night for Rudy and a safe trip home for Rolf later tonight.  Okay, (BIG sigh) the end of another day…I’m so grateful God’s mercies are new every morning!

I just got the call here at home from Rolf in the surgery waiting room that Rudy went into the OR at 5pm.  There was some delay in getting him to the OR as the attending CTICU doctor couldn’t release Rudy until they got some numbers back from the lab but he’s there now…Dr Reemtsen’s part will be done in 30 minutes, Rolf will probably see him in about 90 minutes and I’m pacing the kitchen floor at home in Santa Barbara.  It has been good for me to be home with the kids today doing school drop offs/pick ups, football practice transport and going on the Girl Scout Brownie field trip (taking cookies to the fire fighters!) but I must say it is agony not being with Rudy too.  I’ll head back to take my shift with Rudy tomorrow morning and stay until Friday most likely.  Please pray that this procedure will do what it is supposed to and that this will be the push Rudy needs to get past this “fluid” hurdle and positioned for some progress once he recovers from surgery.  Thank you…thank you!

It’s 9:40am here in sunny So Cal and the doctors just finished their morning rounds.  Although Rudy had a little hiccup around midnight when his saturation numbers went up and his blood pressure went down, they’ve decided to go ahead with the extubation.  Dr. Rick feels Rudy has a 60% chance of success but they really don’t know until they try.  Nurse Rosella just came in to get him positioned!  Poor thing, he has no idea what’s going to happen…Rolf and I are pacing the floor for him.  We’ll keep you posted….

There are a handful of families we’ve met since we’ve been in the CTICU that have become very special to us…Ceasar’s family is one of them.  Rolf and I have been wanting to introduce you to them through our blog and we will post a longer introduction later but for now will you pray for Cesar today as he is undergoing a second heart transplant as I write?  The news that they had a match came late last night and Cesar was taken down for prep around 3am!  We’ve watched this courageous family wait patiently for a heart for their 15 year old son since we met them a few weeks ago.  It took my breath away when Cesar’s mom came to Rudy’s room last night and told me they had a heart!  It will be a long day for this precious family.  Please pray the surgery is successful and that this heart is a perfect match for Cesar…I also can’t help but think of the family of the unknown donor…I pray God’s covering over them as well…Bless them!!!